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NYC begins notifying migrants about 60-day shelter stay rule
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jul 26, 2023
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Arun Venugopal / Gothamist
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jul 26, 2023
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New York City officials have begun alerting single adult migrants about a new rule that limits their stay in an individual shelter to 60 days — a strategy that Mayor Eric Adams hopes will spur many migrants to find alternative housing and relieve the strain on the city’s shelter system.
So far, the city has sent notices to more than 100 migrants who have been in the shelter system the longest, according to Dr. Ted Long, of the city’s public hospital system, who has been managing some of the emergency shelter sites.
“The opportunity is for us to learn at this stage of the asylum seeker crisis what people’s needs are,” Long told reporters Wednesday during a migrant briefing at City Hall.
City officials, he said, were using the rolling notices to intensify their case management efforts to assist migrants with leaving the shelter system.
Critics, however, have condemned the plan as undermining the city’s right-to-shelter law, which guarantees a bed to anyone who requests one.
More than 56,000 migrants are currently staying in city shelters, although the majority are families who will not be affected by the new policy.
Migrants who do not have a place to move may report to an intake center where they will need to reapply for shelter.
More than a year into the crisis, city officials are growing increasingly desperate in their attempts to house new arrivals. Thousands of people continue to arrive each week, pushing the city’s shelter population past 107,000, officials said.
Adams has repeatedly implored the Biden administration to come up with a “decompression” strategy at the border that redistributes migrants across different cities. He’s also pressed the White House to help expedite work authorizations for migrants.
There have been few signs of a national response. On Tuesday, a federal judge struck down a policy that slowed border crossings, delivering a potential setback to the Biden administration.
Asked about deteriorating conditions in some shelters, Anne Williams-Isom, the deputy mayor for health and human services, acknowledged that the city is increasingly overstretched.
The city has spent more than $1 billion this year in caring for the migrants. Although the state and federal government has chipped in some financial assistance, city officials expect costs to soar over $4 billion next year.
“It’s about space, it’s about personnel, people and resources,” Williams-Isom said. “That’s why we need help.”
Tagged
new york city
housing
Politics
Asylum Seekers
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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