Adams Blames Migrants For Shelter Woes Critics Say Thats Too Simple
Theres anecdotal evidence of an uptick in asylum seekers in New York Citys homeless shelter system, but advocates say its convenient to blame them.
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Early last week, Mayor Eric Adams called for federal assistance to help with what he said was a flood of 2,800 asylum seekers who were making it difficult for New York City to fulfill its legal obligation to provide housing to those in need, known as the right to shelter.
Mr. Adams said the influx was partly caused by migrant families arriving on buses sent by the Texas and Arizona governments.
The mayors comments created his latest political entanglement, this time against a national backdrop: His assertion began a back-and-forth with the governors of those states much as a similar accusation from the Washington, D.C., mayor, Muriel Bowser, had drawn headlines a few days earlier.
But advocates for the homeless said that Mr. Adamss strategy of blaming the entire spike in shelter population on migrants is a distortion that distracts from the citys homeless crisis, leaving vulnerable families caught in the middle.
Late last week, the city acknowledged that it had violated the right-to-shelter law when four families slept overnight at a homeless intake center. The Legal Aid Society said it could not recall such a violation since at least 2014.
New York Is Pushing Homeless People Off The Streets Where Will They Go
Cleanup crews are clearing encampments, but advocates say the sweeps just move people from one place to another and fail to address the housing crisis.
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By Andy Newman and Nicole Hong
On a sweltering July afternoon, a homeless man named Melvin Douglas biked up to his sleeping spot beneath the High Line, the elevated, art-filled New York park overlooking the Hudson River, and found that a city cleanup crew had thrown away his possessions again. The same thing had happened the day before.
Brand-new clothes, brand-new T-shirts, everything, Mr. Douglas, 54, said as he shook his head at the bare sidewalk. They took all my stuff, bro. No regard at all.
As the countrys most populous city strives to lure back tourists and office workers, it has undertaken an aggressive campaign to push homeless people off the streets of Manhattan.
City workers used to tear down one or two encampments a day. Now, they sometimes clear dozens. Since late May, teams that include sanitation workers in garbage trucks, police officers and outreach workers have cruised Manhattan around the clock, hitting the same spots over and over.
The citys Department of Homeless Services says it resorts to cleanups only in the case of service-resistant individuals and is committed to helping people find homes.
New York City Church Assistance Programs
Many of the churches in New York are committed to providing resources and shelter for the homeless. One of the best churches for obtaining overnight shelter is the First Presbyterian Church, which is located at 12 W 12th Street and can be reached by phone at 212-675-6150. There, clients can have a bed to sleep in, or given a free hot meal, and volunteers provide other support services available, especially in Manhattan.
Other New York churches that provide help and assistance to the homeless include The Church of the Holy Apostle , the Church of the Blessed Sacrament , and many others. Using a combination of volunteers and donations, these churches run soup kitchens and provide food to those in need.
In addition to food and shelter, the churches of New York City also provide services that help those in need pay their bills. According to the program, Struggling residents of the greater New York City area can get help from local churches and other faith based groups. Some of what may be provided includes shelter, hot meals, information on applying for financial aid or maybe a few dollars to pay a bill as well as other aid. There are churches that support the poor, immigrants, and vulnerable in all boroughs.
Homelessness is always a challengeand housing is something that should be considered a human right. If you or someone you know is currently experiencing homelessness, be sure to consider utilizing these helpful outreach programs and other resources.
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American Red Cross Of Greater New York
520 West 49th Street 733-2767The Red Cross operates two Tier II shelters for homeless families referred to them by the Citys Emergency Assistance Unit. One of these, the Emergency Family Shelter, is located in Clinton . It serves primarily single mothers and their children, and provides an array of supportive services.
Get Support At College
Once you get into college, its important to find a safe place to sleep and good food to keep your energy up. Many schools have resources that can help you.
- CUNY Single Stop: CUNY Single Stop offices in community colleges around NYC offer free financial counseling, help applying for benefits, and other services.
- Campus food pantries: All public colleges in NY State, including CUNY and SUNY, are supposed to have a food pantry with free groceries for students facing food insecurity. Many other private campuses have one, too. Find out if your school has a food pantry.
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Physical & Sexual Health Services
From safe and affirming services for LGBTQ youth to afforable insurance and free condoms, NYC has resources to help you stay healthy, no matter your ability to pay, immigration status, or housing and family situation.If you plan to get health services, keep in mind:
- Anyone over 12 in NYC can get confidential sexual health services, such as STD/STI testing, without consent from a parent or guardian
- For primary care and other medical services, such as check-ups and shots, youth under 18 typically need parent or guardian permission, but you have options. If youre not able to get permission, you can talk to someone at a drop-in center or at your school.
NYC YouthHealth Centers
NYC YouthHealth Centers throughout the City provide healthcare for young adults ages 12 and up, regardless of whether or not you can pay. You dont need an appointment for sexual health services, but you might for other services.
Sexual Health Clinics
NYC Sexual Health Clinics across the City provide no- to low-cost confidential services for STIs, including HIV. Clinics see people on a first-come, first-served basis, and you dont need an appointment.
School-Based Health Centers
All students at a school with a SBHC can get healthcare services, even if they dont have insurance. Some high school SBHCs also offer mental health and reproductive care.Learn more about sexual health and other services
New York City Rescue Mission Has Joined Forces With The Bowery Mission & Goodwill Rescue Mission
Together, we are effectively combating the epidemic of homelessness affecting nearly 80,000 people in the New York metro area and meeting the needs of significantly more people across the region. Leveraging over 400 years of combined service, three historic organizations have united to re-imagine the fight against poverty and homelessness. Together, we will be known as The Bowery Mission and this partnership has been made possible through the faithfulness of generous supporters.
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Outreach / Drop In Center
Olivieri Antonio Center for Men and Women Urban Pathways Urban Pathways: 575 8th Avenue, 9th Floor 736-7385 257 West 30th Street 947-3211 Urban Pathways provides services, outreach, drop-in centers, and supportive housing to homeless and formerly homeless individuals. Many of their programs and facilities are located in or near Community Board No. 4.
Covenant House New York 460 West 41st Street 613-0300 Covenant House is a nationwide, multi-service agency targeting at-risk youth. Their Crisis Center, located in Clinton, provides food, clothing, shelter, counseling, and crisis services to any young person under the age of 21. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a year. Covenant House also operates an Outreach Van that provides food, clothing, counseling and referrals to youth living on the streets.
Midtown Community Court 314 West 54th Street 264-1315 In addition to criminal-justice related functions, Midtown Community Court provides social services, including on-site drug treatment, primary care, ESL classes, and job training. The Court also runs a homelessness outreach program that can be dispatched to contact street homeless and offer them access to services. It also provides short-term counseling and referrals to walk-ins.
St Francis Xavier Church
30 West 16th Street 627-2100
The church operates a 12 bed emergency shelter for homeless men who are referred by John Heuss House, which is a drop-in center run out of Trinity Church downtown. They also operate a soup kitchen on Sundays and a food pantry on the second Saturday of each month. Finally, the church provides life skills education and mentoring to homeless and formerly homeless adults
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Hotels Being Used As Homeless Shelters
So in my researching hotels for an upcoming trip to NYC, I have come across some posts warning that some hotels are currently also being used as homeless shelters in NYC. Actually, one hotel that we were considering happens to be one that was mentioned . So what is the deal with this? We’re wondering if this is accurate and if so, has anyone had experience staying in a hotel used in this way? If so, what was your experience and would you deter us from staying in such a hotel or recommend it? Any info, advice or experience shared would be appreciated.
If you find this is happening I would not stay there.
But make sure it is a real report and current before you jump to conclusions
You can search the TA reviews for any word or phrase. So I did…
Of the thousands of reviews of the property, theres really only one that mentions this issue with any credibility.
I can think of other reasons not to stay there. But Im not sure housing homeless people is necessarily one of them.
If you provide your dates and nightly budget along with bedding configuration, people here can try to help with other options.
It’s been reported that the City has been forced to house the homeless in various hotels when there is insufficient housing. It costs the city a fortune to do this, but they haven’t been able to get enough housing on line fast enough.
In alberta if you have children and are homeless welfare has to put people in hotels.
I thought this had been going on for years?
New York City
Manhattan Billionaires Row Homeless Shelter Opens After Years
This article was originally published on Nov 9 at 8:39am EST by THE CITY
After four years and several court battles, a residence for 140 homeless men quietly opened, steps from some of the priciest real estate in Manhattan.
The West 58th Street shelter is located in the former Park Savoy Hotel, next door to an entrance of the 1,000-foot-high One57, one of several supertall buildings on so-called Billionaires Row.
The shelter opened Friday, the Department of Homeless Services said, more than four years after the city first submitted plans to the state in August 2017 and more than three years after neighbors sued to block the facility. Foes claimed the building was unsafe, but New Yorks highest court ruled against the group in May.
DHS Commissioner Steve Banks said, to his knowledge, it was the longest and the most well-funded litigation against a shelter in the five boroughs.
Not every shelter opening results in a court challenge, but where there have been court challenges, weve prevailed in every one, he told THE CITY.
Just five men have moved in this week, and a few will be moving in each week until the shelter is full, officials said.
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We Cannot Have 10 Shelters: Chinatown Pushes Back On Planned Grand St Homeless Site
Chinatown residents are up in arms about yet another homeless facility planned for their neighborhood. The city, for its part, argues the facility is needed because there are documented street homeless in the area that it would serve.
Meanwhile, Housing Works, the group that would run the site, says its program would benefit the community by shifting unwanted behavior like heroin users shooting up from outdoors to indoors. The facility would operate on the harm-reduction model, meaning people could freely possess and use drugs inside.
The issues around the planned homeless site, at 231 Grand St., came to a head last month at a meeting of the Community Board 2 Human Services Committee, at which the scheme was first presented.
The planned location is just a block away from Sara D. Roosevelt Park and a block and a half away from where Christina Yuna Lee, 35, was brutally slain a month ago by a homeless man who stabbed her more than 40 times inside her own apartment.
The idea is for a 24/7, co-ed facility that would include a drop-in center for up to 50 persons, plus 94 stabilization beds in individual rooms. Couples would be allowed to share a room. The goal would be for individuals in the stabilization beds to be placed in permanent housing within 12 months.
Housing Works plans to acquire the existing hotel at the location. The plan was set in motion under former Mayor de Blasio.
Sounds like an open bar, someone scoffed in the chat.
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Last month, the Washington Examiner reported that Texas had sent 65 busloads of migrants to Washington, with Arizona sending another 14.
More than 2,500 migrants were transported, according to the report.
We need some of those states that have been giving people one-way tickets we need them to understand that this must be a partnership in this country to deal with those who are coming here seeking refuge, asylum, Adams said during a Monday news conference at City Hall.
New York is going to do its share but we have an overburdened shelter system now.
When pressed for details on the migrants arrival in the Big Apple, Adams said, We need to investigate how theyre given the one-way tickets.
Were not sure, he said.
This just got on our radar when we started seeing a high number show up.
An Abbott spokesperson denied that Texas was sending migrants to New York City but said the total number sent to Washington now exceeded 5,100.
If these Democrat mayors are now that concerned about having migrants in their cities, they should call on President Biden to do his job and secure the border, instead of attacking Texas with baseless political accusations, spokesperson Renae Eze said.
Eze added: Every American community is a border community until President Biden secures our southern border.
Nationwide, the CBP has encountered more than 2 million migrants since Oct. 1.
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New York City Pulls Plug On Second Homeless Shelter In Chinatown
The Adams administration backtracked on the second shelter, one of three that had been proposed for the neighborhood, after protests from the community.
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By Andy Newman
For the second time in less than a week, New York City canceled plans on Monday for a shelter in Chinatown, where community opposition has complicated Mayor Eric Adamss efforts to move homeless New Yorkers off the streets.
The 94-bed shelter would have been in a closed hotel at the busy intersection of Grand Street and Bowery. The location is near where an Asian American woman was murdered in February in an attack for which a homeless man has been charged. The shelters would-be operator, Housing Works, had planned to allow illegal drugs in the building, a move that drew fierce condemnation from local residents.
Both canceled shelters are of a specialized type known as safe havens or stabilization hotels, which offer more privacy and social services and fewer restrictions than traditional shelters. Mr. Adams announced plans last week to open at least 900 rooms in such shelters by mid-2023.
The department said in a statement, Our goal is always to work with communities to understand their needs and equitably distribute shelters across all five boroughs to serve our most vulnerable New Yorkers.
Dana Rubinstein contributed reporting.
Manhattan Hotel Reopens As Homeless Shelter Despite Protest From Billionaires Row Residents
The residents spent over $300,000 in lawsuits claiming crime and loitering by the occupants would lead to irreparable injuries
Just a few steps away from the horse-drawn carriages that whisk tourists through New Yorks Central Park and the opulence of the Plaza Hotel is an unassuming building on a quiet block in midtown Manhattan.
The building is marked by an awning that reads Park Savoy Hotel. Nestled in between a 24-hour parking structure and an apartment building on a predominantly residential street, the Park Savoy blends in with the other hotels in the neighborhood.
A sign on the front window of the building that says Welcome to the Park Savoy rapid re-housing program is the only marker that indicates it is a homeless shelter, built in one of the most pricey neighborhoods in New York. One that rich locals fought for years, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars campaigning against the crime and irreparable injuries they said it would bring fears that appear to have been unfounded.
The shelter quietly opened its doors in early November. It is designed to house up to 80 men and is known as an employment shelter meant for those who are seeking employment or who are actively employed, especially in midtown Manhattan. The shelter has been taking in about five new occupants a week since it opened 8 November, according to a city spokesperson.
I see one or two people going in, but they look harmless.
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