August 21, 2023 Attorneys, Advocates Also Respond to Tentative Agreement Between Federal Government and the State on Using Floyd Bennett Field as a Shelter Site for New Arrivals (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless issued the following joint statement in response to Governor Kathy Hochul providing additional resources for the City to serve new arrivals and news of a tentative agreement between the Federal government and State to use Floyd Bennett Field to shelter New Yorkers in need: “We welcome these additional resources from Governor Hochul and her Administration in what we hope is the start of a more meaningful commitment to provide the City with funding, staffing, facilities, coordination and more to avoid another nightmarish scenario where people are relegated to the streets and exposed to the elements. “However, the devil is in the details, and we need more information from the State, including a concrete timeline for transitioning 30,000 new arrivals out of shelter and securing those individuals work authorization, as well as information on the transportation and other critical services that will be made available to new arrivals once Floyd Bennett Field is operational. “We hope that this is the beginning of the Governor galvanizing the full weight and authority of the State to address an emergency that warrants a whole-of-government response to ensure the safety and well-being of our newest neighbors. “And critically, for our clients who are not covered by this new initiative, including the 31,000 new arrivals and more than 50,000 New Yorkers in shelters operated by the New York City Department of Homeless Services, both Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams must continue to collaborate on solutions to transition them into safe, long-term and affordable housing and prevent more New Yorkers from having to seek shelter.” Background:Earlier this month, Legal Aid, the Coalition for the Homeless and more than 100 other organizations from around New York State representing advocates, services providers, and faith groups issued a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul urging her to develop a comprehensive statewide decompression and resettlement plan for the new arrivals and to immediately prioritize deploying state resources to ensure sufficient temporary housing capacity for new arrivals and other unhoused New Yorkers. Last month, Legal Aid and the Coalition for the Homeless also called on the City to advance a variety of reforms to increase shelter capacity.The next court conference in Callahan v. Carey is scheduled for Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at 2:15 PM before New York State Supreme Court Judge Erika Edwards. The courtroom is located at 60 Centre Street – Part 10, Room 412 in Manhattan. Legal Aid and others will hold a media availability for press outside the courthouse following the conference. Please RSVP with Redmond Haskins at rhaskins@legal-aid.org if you plan to attend.
