Mayor Eric Adams assured on Monday, January 8th, that no migrant families would be sleeping on the streets of New York City, as the eviction notices for migrants were set to commence on Tuesday.
Thousands of families who received 60-day eviction notices from city shelters in October are now facing the deadline. City officials implemented this measure to create room for the influx of new asylum-seeking migrants arriving almost every day.
Mayor Adams and administration members responsible for handling the placement of asylum-seeking migrants have asserted that the concerns of these migrants, fearing they have no place to go, are unfounded.
During a media briefing at City Hall, Adams stated, “I think that anyone who believes that this administration will create an environment where children and families will sleep on the street, they were not hearing our message over and over again. “
“This is not going to be a city where we’re going to place children and families on the street and have them sleep on the street. That is not going to happen. We’ve made that clear,” the mayor continued.
Adams added, “We understand the sensitivity of this, and we’re going to make sure we treat these families with the respect they deserve.”
The notices provided to migrant families in October were originally intended to be up in December.
However, the city postponed these notices, allowing the families to remain in their current accommodations during the holiday season.
On Tuesday, the first phase of evictions commenced, with 40 families at The Row Hotel being instructed to reapply for new shelter placements.
These families are being asked to reapply for shelter at The Roosevelt Hotel, also the placement center for new arrivals.
Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom confirmed that the administration would resettle the families from The Row Hotel after they reapply.
“The mayor has said one thing to us: he does not want families and children on the street,” Williams-Isom said. “I think that these children and families have been through so much, and so we’re not talking about destabilizing them. I just want to flip that premise.”
Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom and Dr. Ted Long, two key figures addressing the migrant crisis, emphasized that they have personally met with every outgoing family at least four times to assist them in devising plans for their housing and employment and ensuring their children continue their education.
Addressing concerns about the disruption of education for children of families facing eviction, Dr. Long emphasized that these children will not be uprooted from their current schools, and alternative housing options will be provided to support this continuity.
Dr. Long said, “If your child is in elementary school, you’re the highest priority for us to immediately and quickly give you another placement in Manhattan, preferably close to where your child is in school.”
He added, “If your child’s in school during the day, again, we’ll work with you to pick up your child, and DOE is on-site to [help with] coordination in terms of new bus routes or even MetroCards for you and your children to make sure that school is uninterrupted.”
Dr. Long noted that due to the city’s proactive measures, nearly 60% of the 164,000 individuals who have entered the city shelter system were able to take the next step in their journey and leave the shelter.
He mentioned that the city’s Application Assistance Help Center has aided 20,000 asylum seekers in their legal assistance, including Temporary Protected Status and work authorization applications.
The Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom deputy stated that a total of 4,400 migrant families have been issued 60-day notices.
