Homeless New Yorkers and their advocates want New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to own up to his promise to them.
Last Thursday, outside of City Hall, members of Picture the Homeless, Communities United for Police Reform, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Justice Committee and FIERCE (an organization that caters to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth of color in New York City) demanded that police abuse against homeless people end and that the mayor adopt cost-effective housing solutions by using city-owned lots to construct housing.
“When he ran for office, he said he was going to reform the police,” said a representative for the Justice Committee. “He said he was going to try and do better for New York’s most vulnerable communities. And yet, what we’ve seen since he’s been in office has been nothing.”
Members of the city’s homeless committee spoke out about being forced to move from spot to spot in a neighborhood or around the city, no matter if they were on public property. One woman said that even after finding housing, she was still harassed by members of the New York Police Department who know that she isn’t homeless anymore. She also had words for those who discuss homelessness and homeless people in a negative way.
“Just because somebody’s homeless, doesn’t mean they’re not human and they have rights,” she said. “That’s where human rights come in.”
One homeless man said during the news conference, “Instead of giving us shelters, give us low-income housing that’s affordable for the homeless people.”
Another person who came to show support for the city’s homeless was Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York. Sarsour shared her history of working with the city’s vulnerable and had a message for the mayor.
“I was part of the movement to sign the Community Safety Act in 2013,” said Sarsour at the news conference. “And clearly one of the communities that was a part of the organizing but also kept in mind was our homeless sisters and brothers, which is we expanded the protected categories to include housing status. So we ask this progressive, liberal mayor that if you are a true progressive—a true liberal—demonstrate that by treating those that are the most vulnerable in our community with the utmost respect.”
Sarsour said that as a member of the city’s Arab community that’s under surveillance from law enforcement, she will be with the city’s homeless every step of the way.
“As a New Yorker, I rather my taxpayer dollars go to housing for the homeless than go to policing the homeless,” said Sarsour.
After the news conference, Picture the Homeless members delivered signed postcards to the mayor’s press secretary demanding that he stop “move-along” orders for the homeless.
“She asked us whether we thought this increase in police activity was happening as a result of small business concerns, and we shared that, according to cops, it was happening as a result of ‘an edict from the Mayor,’” said a representative for Picture the Homeless to the AmNews. “She committed to bring our request for a meeting with the mayor and the police commissioner to the appropriate decision makers.”