Unmarried people do not need to prove that they have nowhere else to stay before entering a homeless shelter, a Manhattan court ruled February 22. The court said that the administration did not communicate properly with the city council when making the policy changes.
The policy change was imposed in November without meeting requirements such as a public hearing
and other procedural steps, according to Reuters. In December, the council voted to sue Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration over how the policy was communicated to lawmakers and the public.
Reuters said that city officials have estimated that the policy would save $4 million per year. Council Speaker Chris- tine Quinn was very satisfied with the ruling of the court. She believes that the new rule would have put thousands more New Yorkers on the street, since they required “people who could least shoulder it” to provide proof that they have nowhere else to stay, Quinn said to the New York Post.
The city plans to appeal the decision. Mayor Bloomberg thinks that the judges should explain to New Yorkers “why they think that you should just have a right to walk in and say, ‘Whether or not I need services, give it to me,’” he said to the New York Post.
