Coalition forms to stop Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams from changing New York City's right-to-shelter law
NEW YORK -- With the asylum seeker crisis stretching New York City services to the breaking point, Gov. Kathy Hochul has joined Mayor Eric Adams in asking a judge to amend the right-to-shelter law.
But some are trying to stop them.
Nearly two dozen advocates, religious leaders, and a representative of one of the city's largest unions met at St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue on Thursday to form NY Sane, which is dedicated to stopping the city from convincing a judge to erode the right-to-shelter law to help it cope with the asylum seeker crisis.
"You know, I think the mayor thought he was going to sneak this by, that he was going to repeal the right to shelter, he was going to throw new arrivals out on the street like they weren't human beings and nobody was going to notice," said Christine Quinn, president and CEO of WIN.
The group claims that if the mayor is successful, New York City would see vast tent encampments, like those seen on the West Coast, that it would not stem the flow of migrants, which are now more than 122,000, and further erode the city's economy by driving away tourists, commuters and businesses.
"Because the city streets, as we've seen in San Francisco and other places, will be clogged with the homeless seeking to survive a brutal winter," said David Jones of the Community Service Society.
READ MORE: Gov. Kathy Hochul announces program to help Venezuelan asylum seekers find jobs and leave shelters
The group sent a letter to the mayor, asking him to adhere to five basic principles, including a promise not to erode the right to shelter and to give families with children placement in facilities with private locking rooms, not tent shelters with cots.
The coalition met after Hochul had her lawyer file a letter supporting the city's petition to change the law to help it cope with the migrant crisis. The letter argued the law "is now placing unforeseen operational constraints on the city."
The governor defended her commitment to help the homeless, but said, "I don't know how the right to shelter can or should be interpreted to be an open invitation to 8 billion people who live on this planet, that if you show up on the streets of New York that the city of New York has an obligation to provide you with a hotel room or shelter."
A new judge has been assigned to the right-to-shelter case. He has yet to set a date for the next court hearing.