Caribbean immigrant advocate condemns eviction notices to asylum seeking families

A senior Caribbean immigrant advocate in New York has strongly condemned the Eric Adams administration for reportedly giving 60-day eviction notices to asylum seeking families living in Department of Homeless Services shelters in New York.

President and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), Murad Awawdeh, said that the reported 60-day eviction notices to around 30,000 parents and children are in addition to the 20,000 parents and children living in Health and Hospitals Corporation, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development shelters who are already subject to eviction notices.

Awawdeh told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that while families are able to reapply for new shelter stays, they are not guaranteed to remain in their current shelter and close to their children’s school.
“Every family deserves a stable living and learning environment, whether they’ve been in New York for 30 days or 30 years. By subjecting even more families to arbitrary 60-day shelter evictions, the city risks the health and well-being of vulnerable families, while doing little to solve our affordability crisis.

“With little notice, parents will be scrambling to secure a roof over their heads while their children will likely have their schooling interrupted, just as the new school year begins,” Awawdeh said, adding shelters have always been designed to be a temporary stop-gap until families can get on their feet.

“It is long past time for Mayor Adams to stop creating barriers to the successful integration of immigrant New Yorkers into our local communities and economies. The City must end all shelter evictions and expand eligibility of CityFHEPS housing vouchers to all New Yorkers regardless of their immigration status,”Awawdeh said.

Earlier this month, NYIC and Make the Road NY, another immigrant advocacy group, strongly condemned as “a devastating blow” to Caribbean and other immigrants and low-income families a Manhattan Supreme Court decision striking down a lawsuit that would have compelled the Adams administration and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to implement the CityFHEPS housing voucher package that was passed in May 2023 by the City Council.

The City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) programme is a local housing voucher for New Yorkers on the brink of or experiencing homelessness.

On August 1, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank struck down the legislation to expand eligibility for CityFHEPS housing vouchers for low-income New Yorkers facing eviction or homelessness.
“Too many New Yorkers are struggling to keep a roof over their heads as housing costs continue to rise. This expansion of CityFHEPS vouchers would have been a lifeline to vulnerable families stuck in the shelter system and at risk of eviction,” Awawdeh said.

“By expanding opportunities to live in safe, stable housing, we build a city where New Yorkers can put down roots to invest and grow in their communities. This court decision is a devastating blow to low-income families, and any of us who may fall on hard times in the future,” he added.

NEW YORK, August 21, 2024, CMC
CMC/nk/ir/2024

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