Dozens of asylum seeker families evicted from NYC shelters under 60-day limit rule
NEW YORK -- Some migrants who have been living in New York City shelters were evicted Tuesday.
They're part of the first wave of families with children impacted by the city's 60-day rule.
CBS New York's Natalie Duddridge spoke with migrant families who have been staying at The Row Hotel. Many said they aren't sure where they will sleep now.
If they have nowhere else to go, they are told to go to the processing center at The Roosevelt Hotel, four blocks away, to reapply for shelter.
Maria Quero, from Venezuela, told Duddridge in Spanish that she is eight months pregnant and she and her husband are being evicted from the hotel, where she's been living for the last five months.
"We don't want to live like this. We'd like some stability, because of the baby. Get a job, which is the hardest thing here," she said.
Quero is one of 40 asylum seeking families forced to move on or reapply after living in a city shelter for two months. It's part of a strategy the city hoped would free up shelter space for the hundreds of new migrants arriving weekly.
"My teams have moved heaven and earth to work with families to help them identify their next steps," Dr. Ted Long of NYC Health + Hospitals said.
Angel Blanco, also from Venezuela, said days wasn't enough time to find work and a home for him and his 14-year-ld son. So he must reapply at The Roosevelt Hotel processing Center.
"I'm going to The Roosevelt Hotel to be reprocessed. You don't get information about where to leave your things, they don't offer a taxi to get there, you have to walk," he said.
"To kick families out of shelter in the middle of winter time, to displace kids from their school in the middle of the school year, is honestly one of the cruelest things that New York City Hall has done in generations," Comptroller Brad Lander said.
Lander said his team is looking into the city's policy, which he calls poorly communicated and executed.
"We are launching an investigation under the powers granted to the comptroller's office by the city charter," Lander said.
City officials say they will try to keep families who reapply for another 60 days in shelter near their children's school.
"Prioritize kids in elementary school, making sure they're in the same school. Other families have been reticketed to reunite with friends and family," Long said.
Lander said he doubts that will be the case.
"'You might've been in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn and you get transferred and wind up in a homeless shelter in the Bronx -- yes, under federal law, they're obligated to offer you a bus back, but it almost never works. You guys know how bad, unfortunately, the busing system is," he said.
A migrant named Julie, from Haiti, told Duddridge in French she's one of the lucky ones. After being evicted, a friend in Maryland invited her family to stay with them. But John, from Colombia, and his wife and children, hauled their luggage to the The Roosevelt after being evicted from The Row, and still don't know where they'll go.
Buses carrying migrants from Texas continue to arrive at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Last week, Mayor Eric Adams said he is suing 17 bus companies that have been transporting asylum seekers to New York City.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she supports the move, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he thinks Adams should sue the Biden administration instead.
As for where the evicted families will go Tuesday night, the mayor's office has said it will not let them sleep on the street and have been working with them to place them in temporary housing for another 60 days. Dozens more families are expected to receive eviction notices in the next few days and weeks.
Meanwhile, city leaders are moving 1,900 asylum seekers from a shelter at Floyd Bennett Field to James Madison High School in Brooklyn due to a storm arriving Tuesday night.
Officials say it's a proactive measure to make sure everyone at the relief center is safe, and the residents will return after the storm.