NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams scored a modest victory in his fight against right-to-shelter rules, securing greater flexibility as his administration struggles to house thousands of migrants from the Texas border who have flooded the city’s shelter system.
The city announced a temporary agreement with the Legal Aid Society that would limit stays in city shelters for single adults to 30 days as long as the migrant crisis is ongoing, a significant change to the city’s 40-year-old policy that guarantees a place to stay, indefinitely, for all homeless New Yorkers.
The mayor’s office asked the court last year to temporarily suspend the unique right-to-shelter policy as the flow of migrants into the city surged. While the obligation remains in place, the settlement will grant the city more flexibility in managing the more than 64,000 migrants currently in the city’s care.