“The 60-day shelter limit runs counter to the very purpose of shelters: to keep vulnerable homeless families and individuals safe and off the streets.”
City Limits recently spoke with several families about what it was like to live at the shelter, the first congregate facility in which the city has placed large numbers of immigrant families with children. All complained about the cold inside the tents, the remoteness, and inaccessibility.
“Mayor Adams plans to force families experiencing their very first winter in the United States to uproot their lives every 60 days, without an idea of where they’ll end up once they hit their shelter limit. Children will face the prospect of changing schools after finally settling into their current ones.”
A record-high of 119,320 students during the 2022-2023 school year were living in the shelter system, “doubled up” in the housing of others or staying in hotels, motels or unsheltered, a new analysis found. The numbers mark the eighth consecutive year that the city’s population of homeless students surpassed 100,000.
Hundreds of recently-arrived immigrant families with children have been subject to 28-day limits on hotel shelter stays in recent months, as the city insists it’s run out of space to lodge them. The program is separate from a broader announcement Mayor Eric Adams made Monday, as his administration plans further shelter deadlines for a population long singled out as a priority for stable placements.
“For mixed-status households, where at least one member of the family is not a U.S. citizen or eligible immigrant, it can be difficult—if not impossible—to access sufficient housing support.”
“When I told them I was assigned to room 503, the staff told me it’s an office,” said Carlos, who asked that his full name not be used for fear of retaliation. “I went in and saw that there was no window. How are they going to have children in the summer in these conditions?”
The mayor defended the move, saying the city had little choice as it struggles to keep up with a ballooning shelter population. But advocates say the change undermines the city’s social safety net and protections to ensure homeless families with children have access to safe conditions.
The Fair Student Funding Formula, used to distribute the majority of New York City’s education budget to each of its 1,600 public schools, has been criticized for failing to provide enough funds to students who need it most, including those in temporary housing and in the foster care system. A working group has until the end of October to recommend changes.
More than 5,200 New York City families moved from homeless shelters to permanent housing during the 2022 fiscal year, down significantly from the year prior. A new report says the city could accelerate move-outs with a few policy tweaks that streamline access to rental assistance.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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