NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A march and rally against New York City’s decision to move about 8,000 homeless people from hotels to shelters took place on Saturday.
The process has been put on hold, but many say it shouldn’t have happened from the start.
CONTINUE READING: New York City’s plan to return the homeless to shelters met with roadblock as some refused to leave the Midtown Sheraton
Homeless lawyers beat up the city for pushing it Safe in hotels back to communal life.
“Don’t you know that housing is a human right?” Said a spokesman.
Just as the city began evicting around 8,000 homeless people from its hotels, a lawsuit broke out Legal Aid Society brought the process to a standstill, including at the hotel on Fifth Avenue.
“They woke us up early in the morning, pounded on the doors at six and told us to make sure we’re packed and ready to go, and then they cram us all back to the same place we just left,” she said Resident of the Chantel Estrella animal shelter.
The Legal Aid Society issued a statement calling the city’s rush to vacate the hotels “illegal and inhuman” without enough time for proper investigation and attention to disabled residents with special needs.
The break gives Victor Ortega more time to stay in a hotel room on the Upper West Side.
“Stay longer until they find something better for us than putting us in the dumpster again,” he said.
CONTINUE READING: New York City begins moving homeless people from Lucerne and other hotels as the pandemic prospects brighten
“From accommodations to hotels to apartments, that’s why we’re out here today,” said a speaker at the rally on Saturday.
Those who gathered for the march and rally accuse Mayor Bill de Blasio of ruthlessly endangering the homeless population of New York City
“Allowing our New York roommates to be exposed to dangerous and unsanitary conditions when other solutions are available is unreasonable,” said Delcinua Glover, assistant housing attorney in New York City.
There was no immediate response from the mayor to the march, but Isaac McGinn, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Homelessness, released the following statement:
“The health, safety, and wellbeing of the New Yorkers we serve when they get back on their feet is our top priority – that’s why we’re continuing our comprehensive COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs to make it as easy as possible possible for our customers to get tested and vaccinated by delivering these free, vital resources directly to customers wherever they are. As we are phasing out the temporary use of commercial hotels during the COVID period, we and our nonprofit partners are also working closely with our customers to assess the individual needs of each individual and address their requests for reasonable accommodation (RA) through an agreed process correspond in court, with hundreds of accommodations already granted as we work to meet those needs. “
“As part of this process and commitment, we have already closed 23 commercial hotels from the COVID era that previously housed thousands of people. Until the court hearing on Monday, we are holding the planned transition of 3 further commercial hotel locations from the COVID period, which should move this afternoon (1) and Monday morning (2), in pace.
“Now is the time for the city to take action and help make the people in the accommodations and definitely the neighborhoods better off who want to return to a good economy,” said Marisa Redanty, district manager of Hell’s Kitchen.
MORE NEWS: De Blasio says it is time to move the homeless from hotels back to emergency shelters
Residents were relocated from 23 hotels out of 60 in the program. The trial could resume after the trials scheduled for early next week.
