NEW YORK — New York City’s comptroller is calling on the Adams administration to end its 60-day shelter limit for asylum seekers, calling it not only “cruel” but “hollow” and “inadequate.”
It comes after a five-month investigation.
NYC comptroller’s office investigates city’s 60-day shelter limit for asylum seekers
City Comptroller Brad Lander, along with city officials and advocates, announced his office’s findings Thursday.
According to the report, the city has issued 60-day eviction notices to more than 10,000 families with children as of April 28, affecting almost 20,000 adults and 18,000 children.
“This was not a policy designed or implemented to help families achieve stable housing,” Lander said. “Even if you think the policy was appropriate, you would find that it was implemented in a way that was entirely haphazard, that didn’t live up to its own goals and standards.”
“This administration keeps promoting this idea of scarcity and trying to turn New York into a scared city,” said Power Malu, executive director of Artists, Athletes, Activists. Â
A City Hall spokesperson tells CBS New York that the city is long past its breaking point, and that the notices are “one tool in our very limited toolbox to help migrants to exit shelter.”
The comptroller’s report suggests the city could actually save money by ditching the notices and, they say, switching from emergency procurement housing to competitive bidding among qualified providers.
Advocates say 60-day shelter limit causes “anxiety” for migrants
Several city organizations provide pro-bono legal council and other services to asylum seekers, including Project Rousseau.
“I have gotten questions today that range from ‘what is going on with my case?’ [to] ‘I got this letter, what does it mean?'” said Andrew Heinrich, founder and executive director of Project Rousseau.
Heinrich is a Columbia- and Harvard-educated lawyer who’s helping asylum seekers navigate all of it. He says that, to his clients, the 60 days represent a stress they can’t wait to leave behind.
“I had a great comment from a client which is, ‘I can’t wait until the day I stop living 60-day notice to 60-day notice and start living rent to rent,'” he said.
