Dear New Yorkers, 

It’s the time of year when the warm comforts of home should feel more joyful and festive than ever.  

But for New York’s newest neighbors, the guarantee of a mere roof over one’s head is far from certain. 

All week, I’ve been standing alongside advocates, families, and other elected officials urging City Hall and the Adams Administration to reverse its cruel 60-day shelter stay limit. 

We can't be a city that allows immigrant families to be forced from shelter in the middle of winter, uprooting kids from their schools.

Under the current policy, migrant families are allowed to stay in city-sponsored shelters (also known as HERRCs) for just 60 days before they are evicted. The Administration announced earlier this month that evictions would be postponed until after the holidays. But let’s be real: Forcing families with children to sleep on the streets at any point is wretched. 

That's a point I really want to drive home, and why I signed a letter alongside dozens of city and state elected officials this week urging City Hall to end this policy. The 60-day time limit on families staying in HERRCs not only curtails the court affirmed rights of families, but endangers the physical and mental wellbeing of children. 

Just as thousands of children are settling into the safety and stability of new schools, establishing routines, and making new friends after months of hardship and trauma, this policy forces families to leave and reapply for shelter.

What's more, the Administration’s 60-day policy creates unnecessary disruption for the teachers and other kids in the classroom by unsettling routines, taking time and attention away from lessons, and interrupting teaching and learning. As Comptroller, I’m doing everything I can to ensure that immigrant students in NYC schools get the support and resources they need. 

A little more than a year ago, my office was the first to sound the alarm on the lack of additional funding for schools serving newly arrived students from families seeking asylum. Since then, more than 23,000 additional students have arrived in our city and enrolled in New York City Public Schools, contributing to the first increase in school enrollment in eight years. 

That’s why my office urged Department of Education Chancellor Banks to fully fund schools with new arrivals by extending the enrollment cutoff date for students in temporary housing. I was glad to see the Chancellor act accordingly and extend the deadline. Full school funding will make all the difference for migrant students who face the challenges of learning a new language and adjusting to a new home. 

Finally, there’s something else I want to remind New Yorkers of: The City faces large out-year budget gaps (as my office has consistently projected) that we absolutely must address. But our budget gaps aren't mostly due to the cost of providing shelter to asylum seekers. Scapegoating new arrivals is both false and dangerous. 

Instead, New York must focus on expanding access to legal services, case management, and workforce development in partnership with the City, State, and Federal government. This will help new arrivals obtain work authorization and employment as a path out of shelter. 

Not only is this a more humane way to reduce shelter costs – it's economically prudent. A clinic that opened last month to help process applications for the estimated 15,000 immigrants newly eligible for Temporary Protective Status (TPS) a is a promising model to build on. 

Right now, all eyes are on City Hall and the administration’s 60-day policy. If this policy is not reversed, immigrant families will be evicted out onto the streets, kids uprooted from their schools and friends. We simply can’t be a city that allows that to happen. Not during the Holidays – and not ever.  

With hope, 

Brad