Children and their families are being asked to sleep on congregate-style cots inside the ballroom of a New York City hotel in violation of the city's own right-to-shelter rules, according to homeless advocates who say they were informed of these decisions by city officials.
As New York City continues to face unprecedented strain on its shelter system due to the influx of migrants, the Coalition for the Homeless and the Legal Aid Society say the city told them it doesn't have enough hotel rooms to meet the demands for the last two weeks. Dozens of migrant families with kids have slept on cots with dividers at the ballroom of the Watson Hotel in Manhattan, the advocates said.
While they say the families are sleeping on cots for about one night, there are no showers available, and housing children in congregate settings isn't allowed under right-to-shelter requirements.
Migrants at the Roosevelt Hotel are also staying on cots in its ballroom, according to Legal Aid and the Coalition, but only for single adult men and couples with no children - which doesn't violate the rules.
“It is neither appropriate nor lawful for the City to shelter families with children in congregate settings. Private sleeping quarters are needed to ensure these families’ privacy, for parents to nurse newborns, to reduce any transmission of infectious disease, and to protect against sexual assault. City officials have stated that their current plan is for these families to spend no more than one night in congregate settings and then transitioned to more appropriate placements the next day," the organizations said in a joint statement on Friday and urged the city, state and the federal government to do more.
A City Hall spokesperson acknowledge the lack of housing space, and reiterated the mayor's call for help from the state and federal governments.
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"Since the number of families with children arriving has exceeded our capacity, we prepared space in the Watson Hotel ballroom to provide beds and privacy dividers for families with no other options to stay for one night. This has been used for families who arrive late, when the city has no other options, and we have moved families out as fast as we can," the spokesperson said.
The Legal Aid Society said the city has told them that the Watson Hotel is only housing people in the situation for one night at a time and that the number of families who spend the night on cots depends on how many families come in versus available space each night. The situation applies to a few dozen families and has been going on for about two weeks, according to the watchdogs.
With the shelter system overwhelmed, the Adams administration is set to make a case to a judge that the city's right-to-shelter obligations should be lifted. The first hearing on that is happening in the coming days.
Since the spring of 2022, City officials say more than 90,000 migrants have come through the shelters.
