As the city looks for homes for thousands of migratory adults, the decades-old "Right to Shelter" rule is being scaled back in the legal agreement between New York City and homeless advocates.
The settlement's provisions, according to the city, limit the length of detention for adult migrants to 30 days, which lessens the strain on public shelters.
Families with children would not be impacted, and if certain requirements are met, some people may be permitted to remain longer.
Mayor Eric Adams contended that the inflow of asylum seekers had driven the city to financial ruin, making the Right to Shelter law a target.
The City's Shelter System
Less than 2,500 individuals were in the city's shelter system when the statute went into effect, compared to 120,000 people today, according to Adams, who announced the settlement. Among them, migrants make up more than half.
Advocates for the homeless retaliated, claiming that thousands more New Yorkers would be turned away from shelter and that more encampments would appear on the city's streets.
After months of negotiations between city authorities and advocates for the homeless, the Legal Aid Society resulted in the settlement.
New Rules For Newly Arrived Single Adults
The new regulations are only applicable to newly arrived single adults and are only meant to be in place while the migration crisis persists.
The agreement stops the government from arbitrarily refusing shelter to any group of persons if they have nowhere else to go and maintains the underlying 1981 Right to Shelter consent decree. It ensures the City complies with numerous court rulings and current legislation while guaranteeing the Right to Shelter for everyone, including newcomers and long-term New Yorkers.