October 10, 2023 Which Governor Kathy Hochul will we see on October 11? As the influx of asylum seekers and other new arrivals has strained the relief systems in New York City and the relationship between Mayor Adams and the Governor, it has also clearly strained Governor Hochul’s commitment to her own beliefs. Throughout the past year, we have seen two Governor Hochuls: The Governor Hochul who characterizes the executive orders in 30 upstate counties barring the City from sheltering asylum seekers there as “bigoted;” versus the Governor Hochul who resolutely refuses to use her authority to override those bigoted policies. The Governor Hochul who has implemented The Hochul Plan to help the new arrivals process work authorizations and find employment and housing throughout New York State; versus the Governor Hochul who has consistently described the crisis as New York City’s problem. The Governor Hochul who, when asked on CNN if she wanted the Right to Shelter “to go away entirely or on a temporary basis,” responded “No, no; this is one of the reasons we don’t have an enormous homelessness problem;” and in her remarks to the Business Council of New York, compared NYC to Los Angles where there are 90,000 on the street because they lack a Right to Shelter; versus the Governor Hochul who is aligned with Mayor Adams in seeking to gut that very right. When the State submits their letter to the court on October 11 in response to the City’s October 3 letter, which GovernorHochul will we see? The one who describes this situation as a “humanitarian crisis?” Or a Governor Hochul who is willing to let people sleep on the streets, exposed to the elements? MORE: Everything you need to know about the Right to Shelter case on our website.
