Mayor Eric Adams agreed to alter New York City’s “right to shelter” law following a monthslong battle with homeless advocates, as city leaders grapple with finding housing solutions for thousands of migrants.
Adams scaled back his push to suspend the law, a policy that dates back to 1981 and guarantees emergency housing for homeless people. Instead, new terms stipulate adult migrants are limited to stays of no more than 30 days once they enter into the city’s aid system.
The agreement was announced Friday afternoon, following negotiations between city officials and the Legal Aid Society, a non-profit civil legal group that fought Adams’s recommendation of ending the “right to shelter” last year due to the influx of migrants into the city.
“This agreement represents the tireless, good-faith efforts of the parties and the court to help address one of the biggest crises ever faced by the city,” New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix said. “The reasonable plan outlined in this settlement significantly enhances the city’s ability to manage the extraordinary influx of people that have come into our care and will help stabilize our shelter system for those who need it.”
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The new terms are temporary, and will be in effect as long as the migrant crisis continues, exclusively applying to newly arrived single adult migrants. Over 150,000 migrants have made their way to the city since 2022.
“New York City has led the nation in responding to a national humanitarian crisis, providing shelter and care to approximately 183,000 new arrivals since the spring of 2022, but we have been clear, from day one, that the ‘Right to Shelter’ was never intended to apply to a population larger than most U.S. cities descending on the five boroughs in less than two years,” Adams said. “Today’s stipulation acknowledges that reality and grants us additional flexibility during times of crisis, like the national humanitarian crisis we are currently experiencing.”
