In correspondence between city and state agencies in May, before the state lifted COVID-19 restrictions, the Health Department recommended halting hotel shelter transfers if the city saw a major variant outbreak or if average COVID hospitalization admissions exceeded 50 cases a day, which it since has.
Several residents with disabilities say they were sent to buildings that did not meet their needs: Some were transferred to a hotel without a working elevator, and one woman who uses a motorized scooter was moved to a hotel without a working front door or accessible bathroom.
With the city’s hotel shelter transfers once again imminent, City Limits reached out to nonprofit providers to talk with shelter staff and visit the buildings where the city puts up New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
The city must provide written notice to shelter residents at least a week before scheduled moves out of hotels, and ensure those with disabilities are informed of the right to request “reasonable accommodations” at least five days before a transfer, the judge ruled.
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.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
