Can New York force homeless people into shelters? Why Cuomo says yes.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order Sunday requiring homeless people throughout the state to be removed from the streets and brought to shelters when the temperature is below freezing.
In his executive order Sunday, Gov. Cuomo directed state agencies to take 鈥渁ll necessary steps to identify individuals reasonably believed to be homeless and for safety and health in inclement winter weather, and move such individuals to the appropriate sheltered facilities.鈥�
In recent years, homelessness in New York City has reached its highest levels since the Great Depression. In October 2015, the Coalition for the Homeless estimated , including over 23,000 homeless children. And larger homeless populations have coincided with more shelter visits: The number of New Yorkers sleeping each night in municipal shelters is now 86 percent higher than it was a decade ago.聽
鈥淓verybody makes a New Year鈥檚 resolution or many people do. Well, , a New Year resolution for the State of New York and in many ways, its keeping with the spirit of the holiday season, right? Which makes it very simple鈥� Cuomo says in an interview with NY1 Sunday morning. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about love. It鈥檚 about compassion. It鈥檚 about helping one another and basic human decency.鈥�
But human rights lawyers have criticized Cuomo鈥檚 executive order, saying it violates the autonomy of homeless citizens.聽
鈥淲e have a lot of legal concerns about how you force people off the street and into shelter,鈥� advocate Judith Goldiner, head of the law reform unit at the Legal Aid Society, told The Wall Street Journal. 鈥淭o the extent that they鈥檙e talking about arresting people who refuse, obviously .鈥澛�
Roughly 58,000 homeless New Yorkers currently take advantage of shelters, with another opting to stay on the streets instead, NY1 reports. Some homeless people say they are afraid of the shelters and feel less safe there then they do on the streets. But with thousands of homeless citizens refusing shelter in freezing temperatures, Cuomo says he is not afraid of backlash.
鈥淚f I get sued for keeping people safe and getting people in from the cold, because they were endangering themselves, ,鈥� he said during a radio interview.聽
Cuomo鈥檚 New Year's resolution for the state of New York also highlights a growing tension between the governor and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Both de Blasio and Cuomo have offered different strategies for alleviating the state鈥檚 homelessness problem, often criticizing one another鈥檚 plans.聽
De Blasio unveiled his 鈥淗ome-Stat鈥� plan last month to begin tracking, in real time, the city鈥檚 responses to reports of homeless people in the streets. He has also announced a , after Cuomo cut funding for rental assistance in 2011.聽
鈥淭hrowing money at the problem is ,鈥� Cuomo said in November. To which de Blasio responded, 鈥淗e obviously isn鈥檛 looking at the facts. In fact, resources matter a lot in addressing this problem.鈥�
Regardless of their funding disputes, homelessness is an obvious focus for the two New York political leaders. According the 聽by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 17 US states witnessed an increase in homelessness between 2014 and 2015, with New York having the largest increase of 7,660 more homeless people on the streets.
