Parts of NYC right-to-shelter law temporarily suspended
NEW YORK CITY - In a dramatic move, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has signed an executive order that temporarily suspended parts of the city's longstanding right-to-shelter law.
The move is part of the drastic measures being taken by the city to brace for the expected surge of migrants.
Adams has signed an executive order suspending part of the city's right-to-shelter law, including the provision requiring the city to find beds for families with kids by a certain deadline.
The move also allows the city to place those families in group settings like gyms.
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Adams says the city is already stretched to its limits taking care of migrants, so stronger measures must be taken.
Mayor Adams' office also said Wednesday night that its controversial plan to send migrants to Orange County has been temporarily put on hold, at least until legal and safety concerns are worked out.
The proposed plan to move migrants to the city's suburbs is strongly opposed by both lawmakers and citizens in Rockland and Orange counties. with Rockland County Executive Ed Day seeking out a restraining order to block one Orangetown hotel from taking in asylum seekers.
"I have not seen such arrogance and bullyness, in my entire career, I've never seen in all my years it's unbelievable," Day said of Adams' plan.
"We are just trying to keep up with the surge and what was available per discussions with the state, vendors and so on," said Manuel Castro, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency ahead of Title 42 expiring Thursday.
In a statement, Fabien Levy, press secretary to Mayor Adams, said:
"New York City has cared for more than 61,000 migrants over the last year — sheltering, feeding, and caring for them almost entirely on our own. In recent days, we’ve seen upwards of 500 people arrive each day, and we expect those numbers to grow significantly as Title 42 lifts tomorrow. No asylum seeking-family that has sought shelter from us over the last year has slept on the street thanks to our colossal efforts, but without more support from our federal and state partners, we are concerned the worst may be yet to come."
"With over 130 emergency sites and eight humanitarian relief centers already opened, we have reached our limit, and this last week we had to resort to temporarily housing recent arrivals in gyms. In an effort to mitigate those risks and find room within our shelter system, the city has temporarily suspended the policy surrounding timing for placements in shelters. This is not a decision taken lightly and we will make every effort to get asylum seekers into shelter as quickly as possible as we have done since day one."