Dear friends,
The work for justice is to humanize ourselves and recognize the humanity in other people. The migrant crisis in this city, around the nation, and around the world, requires that we count the humanity of people who have been displaced from their homes by violence, instability, and economic need.
Governor Hochul has enlisted the help of the city’s Borough Presidents — well, Staten Island’s Vito Fossella has declined — to allow state caseworkers to assist thousands of Venezuelan migrants who are eligible to apply for temporary protected status.
City Hall projects it will cover $12 billion in housing, food and other costs over the next three years. Hochul wants to quit funding expensive, and seemingly indefinite hotels stays, and target legal clinics aimed at getting migrants tools needed to exit the shelter system.
TPS is just one step in the process for obtaining work authorization. And the access to housing is a huge obstacle in getting migrants out of the shelter system and into homes.
If New York City made migrant families eligible for city housing vouchers, which cost $72/night for families, there would be roughly $3 billion dollars a year in savings. The city currently spends close to $400/night to house a family.
This is the idea put forth this week in an opinion piece by Murad Awawdeh, of the New York Immigration Coalition and Christine Quinn, of Win, the largest services provider for homeless families in the city. They believe that
streamlining access to vouchers and permanent housing is a solution that makes fiscal, logistical and moral sense.
I am not entirely sure how this would work, since housing is in short supply. Nonetheless, I admire their vision for a response that is not just a stopgap. The authors criticize the 60-day limit on shelter stays, which are totally destabilizing for families. And they are right that we must not “lose sight of the humanity of new arrivals.”
The city council overrode a mayoral veto in the summer on a package of legislation to expand rental voucher eligibility among New Yorkers who face eviction. The administration is dragging its feet on implementation, deepening housing insecurity.
Unfortunately, the mayor is not paying attention. Furthermore, his notion of fiscal responsibility is short-sighted: the mayor announced painful budget cuts to New York City services, including schools, child care, food assistance, and libraries.
Both summer school and universal pre-K programs are threatened, and sanitation cuts may delay the rollout of composting in the Bronx and Staten Island.
Bad policies also ripple outward, and they can make our city a harder place to live.
Tell the mayor that he needs a new approach to the budget!
The UN passed a resolution, without US support, to call for
“urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable, consistent with international humanitarian law.”
The resolution also called for the release of “all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children” and for all parties to “refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance.”
Nicholas Kristof provides some good guidance for thinking about the situation:
Whichever side you are more inclined toward, remember that the other includes desperate human beings merely hoping that their children can live freely and thrive in their own nation.
Unless you believe in human rights for Jews and for Palestinians, you don’t actually believe in human rights.
There’s a bill sitting on Governor Hochul’s desk called the Access to Home Data Reporting bill. It requires annual reporting on the New York Access to Home programs. These programs provide home modifications, such as entry ramps and chair lifts, to low-income households.
NY Caring Majority supports this legislation because the modifications enable people to remain at home rather than having to move to institutional settings.
Most of the housing in New York State was not designed to meet people’s needs throughout their life span, so most homes need to be modified as one ages or becomes disabled.
Without data on the unmet demand for access to home programs, it’s harder to address the problem and win funding for these essential services.
Tell the governor to sign the Access to Home Data Reporting law! This time-sensitive action is from NY Caring Majority.
Earlier this month, an Alabama mayor killed himself after being cruelly outed. The mayor, Bubba Copeland, was greatly beloved as both a civic and spiritual leader.
Copeland was also one of few officials who supported local Pride events, as Alabama continues to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, the Associated Press reported.
Many have also expressed outrage at details of Copeland’s private life being made public without his consent, and the intense harassment Copeland faced prior to his death.
Everyone deserves to feel welcome and safe in their community.
Read my letter to Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House. It would be great if he heard from many of us.
with love,
L