New York City homeless shelter stays for migrants capped to 30 days under agreement between Mayor Adams and Legal Aid Society advocates
Migrants, many from West Africa, gathered outside a shelter in Bellerose, Queens, on Friday. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Homeless shelter stays by most single foreign migrants in New York City will be capped at 30 days under a settlement announced Friday afternoon — suspending the indefinite right to shelter afforded to anyone since the 1980s.
A stay can be extended for a short period but only if the migrant demonstrates an extenuating circumstance, such as an inability to get housing or a disability, according to the settlement, reached between homelessness advocates and Mayor Eric Adams' lawyers.
The city's unique-in-the-nation legal obligation to provide room and board to anyone in need has been a key benefit that's fueled the migrant crisis and an influx of over 180,000 people from abroad since spring 2022.
Last spring, Adams asked a court's permission to suspend the right to shelter during the crisis. The legal obligation to provide room and board dates to the 1980s when the city settled litigation arguing that an interpretation of the state constitution requires the provision of shelter.
The settlement sets shelter stays for those under 23 at 60 days. For the traditional homeless population, the right to shelter remains in effect and unchanged, regardless of age.
The Biden administration has reportedly blamed the right to shelter for helping fuel the migrant crisis because, the administration argues, the prospect of free shelter incentivizes border crossers to come to New York. Adams has estimated the crisis will cost the city $10 billion by the upcoming fiscal year, most of the money going toward room and board.
Only a fraction of those costs have been reimbursed by the federal government.
The Adams administration did not wait until the settlement to implement procedures aimed at thinning the migrant head count. Starting last year, the administration began imposing bureaucratic rules that made it harder to access shelter.
For example, single migrants have been kicked out of shelters after 30 days — 60 days for families — and forced to reapply if needed. The bureaucratic process sometimes took longer than a week for some migrants. Only 20% came back into the system.
Also as part of the settlement, the city promised to eliminate the “waiting rooms” where the migrants have waited for days or weeks to reapply for shelter.
Meanwhile, outside a shelter in Bellerose, Queens, dozens of West African migrants rallied to protest conditions in the shelter, including the serving of what they said was rancid food and pork — which observant Muslims don't ever eat — during the holy month of Ramadan.
Asked whether the allegations are true, Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak did not directly answer.
“Approximately 65,000 asylum-seekers are currently still in our care, many of whom will be joining longtime Muslim New Yorkers in observing Ramadan for the first time this year,” Mamelak said. “We are exceptionally grateful to the incredible imams and mosques across the city who have opened their arms and welcomed new arrivals into their congregations, and we will continue to work with our faith leaders on how best to provide migrants with the support they need.”
Homeless shelter stays by most single foreign migrants in New York City will be capped at 30 days under a settlement announced Friday afternoon — suspending the indefinite right to shelter afforded to anyone since the 1980s.
A stay can be extended for a short period but only if the migrant demonstrates an extenuating circumstance, such as an inability to get housing or a disability, according to the settlement, reached between homelessness advocates and Mayor Eric Adams' lawyers.
The city's unique-in-the-nation legal obligation to provide room and board to anyone in need has been a key benefit that's fueled the migrant crisis and an influx of over 180,000 people from abroad since spring 2022.
Last spring, Adams asked a court's permission to suspend the right to shelter during the crisis. The legal obligation to provide room and board dates to the 1980s when the city settled litigation arguing that an interpretation of the state constitution requires the provision of shelter.
The settlement sets shelter stays for those under 23 at 60 days. For the traditional homeless population, the right to shelter remains in effect and unchanged, regardless of age.
The Biden administration has reportedly blamed the right to shelter for helping fuel the migrant crisis because, the administration argues, the prospect of free shelter incentivizes border crossers to come to New York. Adams has estimated the crisis will cost the city $10 billion by the upcoming fiscal year, most of the money going toward room and board.
Only a fraction of those costs have been reimbursed by the federal government.
The Adams administration did not wait until the settlement to implement procedures aimed at thinning the migrant head count. Starting last year, the administration began imposing bureaucratic rules that made it harder to access shelter.
For example, single migrants have been kicked out of shelters after 30 days — 60 days for families — and forced to reapply if needed. The bureaucratic process sometimes took longer than a week for some migrants. Only 20% came back into the system.
Also as part of the settlement, the city promised to eliminate the “waiting rooms” where the migrants have waited for days or weeks to reapply for shelter.
Meanwhile, outside a shelter in Bellerose, Queens, dozens of West African migrants rallied to protest conditions in the shelter, including the serving of what they said was rancid food and pork — which observant Muslims don't ever eat — during the holy month of Ramadan.
Migrants outside a migrant shelter in Bellerose, Queens, on Friday call for better living conditions at the facility housing West Africans. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Asked whether the allegations are true, Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak did not directly answer.
“Approximately 65,000 asylum-seekers are currently still in our care, many of whom will be joining longtime Muslim New Yorkers in observing Ramadan for the first time this year,” Mamelak said. “We are exceptionally grateful to the incredible imams and mosques across the city who have opened their arms and welcomed new arrivals into their congregations, and we will continue to work with our faith leaders on how best to provide migrants with the support they need.”
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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