Critics of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s policy of housing the homeless in unused hotels during the coronavirus pandemic said the continued practice will both bankrupt the city and spread crime, Fox News reported on Tuesday.
The policy is also being paid for by all American taxpayers, not just New Yorkers, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed in April — as the Big Apple was the epicenter of the pandemic — to foot at least 75% of the costs of the $78 million initial contract signed to find hotel rooms for the homeless.
Central Park Civic Association President Michael Fischer said "the crisis is only going to get worse … [and] will eventually bankrupt the city. With more and more people fleeing the city because of the homeless problem and defunding the police where they don't feel safe, the city will not have the funds to sustain this."
City residents also complained about other related problems, with the New York Post reporting that at least six convicted pedophiles who are still on parole were placed in violation of the law into a hotel on Manhattan's Upper West Side just one block from an elementary school playground, although City Hall denied the parolees were at that location.
Other critics stressed that their biggest concerns were not with the homeless people but with the drug dealers and other nefarious people drawn to the area to exploit the situation, according to Fox.
Coalition for the Homeless policy director Giselle Routhier defended the city’s policy, saying "The main priority in the midst of a deadly pandemic must be to save lives. Moving people from congregate shelters to hotel rooms is a commonsense and urgently needed intervention to protect homeless people, and should be a model for other cities."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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