For Migrants in New York Shelters, 60-Day Limit Creates More Confusion

Author: Editors Desk Source: N.Y Times

September 23, 2023 at 18:59

David Morales, 30, who had been living in the Candler Building in Manhattan, is among the migrants who must reapply to remain in city shelters.Credit...Sara Hylton for The New York Times

The city began notifying adult migrants in July that they would soon have to reapply in order to stay in shelters. For some who have reached the deadline, the future remains uncertain.

New York City is implementing new rules in its homeless shelters in what officials said was an effort to reduce crowding as thousands of migrants continue to arrive from the southern border.

New York is required by law to provide shelter to anyone who asks for it, but Mayor Eric Adams announced in July that adult migrants without children would be allowed to stay in city shelters for only 60 days before having to reapply for beds. The city has since issued about 13,000 notices of the 60-day limit, and for about 50 people that end date was Saturday.

On Friday, the mayor announced another change: The time limit for migrants who reapply for shelter would be just 30 days, a shift first reported by The City.

“We have now reached a point where we are full and must take action to move people seeking asylum more quickly through our shelter system,” Anne Williams-Isom, the deputy mayor for health and human services, said on Friday.

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