The number of homeless in NYC has already exceeded 100,000
Photo: Edwin Martínez / Impremedia
The housing crisis is still rampant in the Big Apple, and just as emergency shelters and hotels add up more than 100,000 homeless, 50,000 of them recently arrived migrantsMayor, Eric Adamshe assured this Tuesday, that his Administration has shown considerable improvements to deal with the problem. the burgomaster highlighted a 17% increase in the departures of individuals and families from shelters to permanent apartments, in fiscal year 2023, reflected in almost 15,000, and 500 additional beneficiaries to those CityFHEPS rental vouchers since it eliminated the rule of waiting 90 days in shelters to be able to access vouchers for housing support.
“Since we took office, we have taken steps to cut red tape, streamline our processes and eliminate red tape to get more New Yorkers into permanent housing,” he said. the local president, highlighting the progress your Administration has made in combating homelessness. “Our efforts are working: We’ve increased placements from shelters to permanent housing by 17 percent year-over-year, connected a record number of households to CityFHEPS vouchers this year (…) New York City will continue to do all we can in their power to address this housing crisis.”
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isomhighlighted the effectiveness of what they called “record progress” connecting New Yorkers living in shelters with permanent housing, and the positive effects of the Mayor’s emergency order, which removes the long-standing 90-day stay requirement for New Yorkers in shelters are eligible for housing coupons.
“The removal of the 90-day rule has increased access to CityFHEPS coupons. This, along with all the other efforts to create efficiencies to help individuals and families move more quickly from shelter to stable housing, has shown promise with a record number of New Yorkers connected to CityFHEPS last year,” said the official. “The Administration will continue to explore all avenues to help individuals and families find permanent homes.”
Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce, Maria Torres-Springerinsisted that the City Administration is doing its best to reduce red tape for the homeless, so that more New Yorkers who go through the shelters have a safe and dignified home for the long term.
“CityFHEPS vouchers have already proven to be an effective tool in providing stable housing options for our fellow New Yorkers for the long term, and we are confident that this change will continue to support New Yorkers in the current housing crisis and for years to come,” said the Vice Mayor.
However, the advances presented this Tuesday by the Adams Administration are not entirely convincing and served for community and political leaders of the Big Apple to once again raise their voices to demand that the president give more of his word. The urgent call is to support a City Council-passed bill that would give more New Yorkers who are homeless or facing homelessness a free hand to benefit from housing assistance couponsa regulation that Adams vetoed.
“We are pleased that after advocates across the city urged action and the Council acted, Mayor Adams finally sees the wisdom of ending the 90-day rule and what better access can mean for New Yorkers. to CityFHEPS coupons,” said Rendy Desamours, spokesman for the legislative body of the Big Apple. “The problem is that our city continues to struggle with the increasing number of evictions that only adds to the record number of homeless people, with more than 100,000 people in the care of the City. This is only made worse by the administration’s inaction on the eviction crisis, the understaffing of key city agencies, and insufficient responses that fail to match the gravity of these challenges facing the city.”
The Council spokesman added that this legislative body approved the most significant reforms to address homelessness in years “by improving access to CityFHEPS that can also proactively prevent evictions,” and criticized that the Mayor has put a brake on it, arguing that the use of vouchers to avoid evictions creates more competition for current voucher holders.
“It is positive to see that the efforts of the Council have stimulated the action of this administration, but the scale of this crisis demands more meaningful solutions that we will continue to promote for New Yorkers,” added Desamours.
Robert Desira staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s Civil Law Reform Unit, went further and asked the City Council to override the Mayor’s veto and override it, in order to make effective the law passed to extend the access to housing vouchers.
“We are encouraged to hear that more New Yorkers have been able to secure CityFHEPS vouchers since the Administration removed the arbitrary and punitive ’90-day rule,’ a review we have long called for. However, it is imperative that the City Council immediately override the Mayor’s recent veto of CityFHEPS reform and expansion legislation to ensure that even more families and individuals who are experiencing or about to experience homelessness avoid unnecessary impediments to accessing this life-saving housing voucher,” the advocate said.
Jose Lopezco-executive director of the organization Make the Road New Yorkalso criticized the veto that the Mayor has maintained, and demanded that he side with the most vulnerable families.
“With his vetoes, Mayor Adams has shown a callous disregard for the needs of shelter residents, the homeless, and working families at risk of losing their homes. Instead of working collaboratively with the Council on common sense plans to reduce the population in shelters and get people into permanent housing, he has chosen to play petty politics and go it alone,” the community leader said, calling for action by the Council. City Council. “We urge Council to act quickly to override these vetoes for the City to immediately begin implementing these wise policy solutions.”
The current vacancy rate for affordable housing in the Big Apple is estimated to be barely between 1 and 5%putting thousands of New Yorkers in serious trouble finding apartments.
2023-07-11 21:40:00
#Mayor #Adams #reveals #increase #transfer #homeless #permanent #homes #NYC #demands #greater #solutions
