NYC Mayor Reaches Agreement on ‘Right to Shelter’ For Migrants and Asylum Seekers

NEW YORK, New York – New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced that the city has reached an agreement with The Legal Aid Society in providing additional flexibility for the “Right to Shelter” for migrants. 

The Legal Aid Society said it is largest, most influential social justice law firm in New York City. 

After months of negotiations — during which the city said it has continued to respond to the national humanitarian crisis without “meaningful help” from the federal government — Adams said the parties have come to an agreement that gives the city more tools to manage entries and exits of single adult Caribbean and other migrants from the shelter system and ensure the city has the flexibility it needs to continue supporting vulnerable New Yorkers.

The mayor said the Right to Shelter — put into place over 40 years ago when the city’s shelter system had fewer than 2,500 people in its care — compared to the 120,000 people, about 65,000 of which are migrants, currently in the city’s care — was never meant to apply to a national humanitarian crisis like the one New York City faces today. 

“New York City has led the nation in responding to a national humanitarian crisis, providing shelter and care to approximately183,000 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 US cities descending on the five boroughs in less than two years,” said Mayor Adams. 

“Today’s stipulation acknowledges that reality and grants us additional flexibility during times of crisis, like the national humanitarian crisis we are currently experiencing,” he added. “Thank you to the court and The Legal Aid Society for recognizing that the status quo cannot continue and for giving New York City additional tools to address this crisis while ensuring that the most vulnerable can continue to receive the support they need. 

“Like impacted cities across the country, we cannot bear the brunt of this crisis alone and continue to seek significant support from our federal partners, including expedited work authorizations, more funding and a national resettlement strategy,” the mayor continued. 

New York City Corporation Counsel Barbadian-born Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix said: “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.

“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,” she added. 

Adams’s Chief of Staff Trinidadian-American Camille Joseph Varlack said: “We’ve approached this humanitarian crisis with humanity and the understanding that New York City is the greatest city in the world thanks to our immigrant communities.

“We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done to provide shelter and care to approximately 183,000 migrants over the course of the past two years,” she said. “The agreement we’re entering into today reflects the unprecedented nature of this crisis and ensures that we can manage our shelter population while continuing to provide a safe landing spot for our newest arrivals to get on their feet and get on with their pursuit of the American Dream.”

Adams said Friday’s agreement allows the city to manage the influx of new arrivals and provide adult migrants 30 days of shelter without the ability to re-apply for shelter, “unless the individual has demonstrated they have some sort of extenuating circumstance necessitating a short additional amount of time in shelter, or have received a reasonable accommodation due to a disability.”

Under the agreement, to better support younger adult new arrivals, individuals under 23 years of age will be provided 60 days of shelter. 

Adams said New York City will continue to provide “reticketing services to help more people move out of shelter and continue their journeys towards self-sufficiency.”

He said the settlement applies only to adults seeking shelter and does not impact families with children.   

In a joint statement, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala noted that, “for decades, New York’s Right to Shelter legal protections have ensured that our city’s most vulnerable have a roof over their heads, preventing them from having to sleep on the streets, subways and in other public spaces. 

“This settlement seems to preserve the foundation of this essential protection from further efforts to undermine it, and encourages the continued support of families and individuals seeking asylum, while eliminating the backlog of new arrivals who are reapplying for shelter placements,” they said. 

“As a Council, we remain focused on working with the administration and all stakeholders on immediate and long-term solutions that relieve pressure on the shelter system by helping New Yorkers transition into stable, permanent housing,” Speaker Adams and Ayala added. “We are examining the details of this settlement further, and will continue our oversight efforts to protect the health and safety of all New Yorkers.”

Following a court-supervised mediation, The Legal Aid Society said on Friday that it reached an agreement with the city to end the government’s legal challenge to New York’s long-standing Right to Shelter for single adults, established under the case Callahan v. Carey in 1981.

“The terms of the settlement are temporary, as they will only operate during the current humanitarian crisis and apply only to new arrivals who are single adults,” said the Legal Aid Society in a statement. “The agreement preserves the underlying 1981 Right to Shelter consent decree and prevents the government from automatically denying shelter to any group of people if they have no other place to go. 

“It guarantees the Right to Shelter for anyone – longer-term New Yorkers and new arrivals alike – while ensuring the city’s compliance with multiple court orders and existing law,” it added. 

The Legal Aid Society said the settlement consists of a temporary crisis plan that takes effect immediately and lasts only until the current humanitarian crisis ends.  It said the underlying Right to Shelter consent decree has not been modified. 

Among other provisions, the Society said the city is required to address the current influx by eliminating the backlog of new arrivals who have been forced to wait many days for another bed when reapplying for placement.

“This settlement safeguards the right to shelter in the consent decree, ensuring single adults’ – both long-time New Yorkers and new arrivals – access to shelter, basic necessities, and case management to transition from shelter to housing in the community. It also requires the city to immediately eliminate the use of waiting rooms as shelters where new arrivals have been sleeping on chairs and floors while they wait for shelter placement,” said Adriene Holder, chief attorney of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society. “We will very closely monitor the city’s compliance with this settlement, and we won’t hesitate to seek judicial intervention should there be noncompliance.”