NYC reduces shelter stay limit to 30 days for adult migrants
Sept. 22, 2023, 6:32 p.m.
The plan cuts in half a prior 60-day notice rule affecting adult migrants, which was announced in August amid criticism from many elected officials and homeless advocates.
Adult migrants admitted into New York City’s shelter system will be asked to leave their assigned shelter after 30 days, although they may reapply if they cannot find housing, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.
“We appreciate the support we have received so far from our state and federal partners, but with more than 60,000 asylum seekers still in our care and without additional help, we will be forced to continue making difficult decisions,” Adams said in a statement.
The new policy was first reported by The City earlier this week. It represents another rollback of the city’s right to shelter rules — which guarantee a bed for anyone in need.
The plan cuts in half a prior 60-day notice rule affecting adult migrants, which was announced in August amid criticism from many elected officials and homeless advocates. To date, city officials say they have distributed roughly 13,000 60-day notices to adult migrants.
Imposing restrictions on adult migrants comes as Adams threatens to make drastic budget cuts that he has blamed on the migrant costs. Although the White House granted one of the city’s long-demanded requests by announcing work permits for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the country, the mayor has continued to implore President Biden and Governor Kathy Hochul for more funding and policy interventions.
Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer on Thursday that the administration will seek to exempt migrants from the right-to-shelter mandate when it goes before a judge next week.
City officials have said the limit on migrant shelter stays would come with intensified assistance by caseworkers helping migrants leave the shelter system.
Whether that strategy proves to be effective may be known as early as this weekend, when an unspecified number of migrants are expected to reach their 60-day shelter stay limit.
City Hall has said they expect that only a small number of migrants will be forced to reapply at the city’s migrant intake center at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown.
Previous attempts to curtail the right to shelter has resulted in homeless advocates bringing the city to court.
A 1981 consent decree compels the city to follow a set of wide-ranging shelter provisions for adults and families and has been credited with limiting street homelessness in the city.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the year in which the consent decree was reached.
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