The Washington Post, Dec. 3, 2019: New York Is Shipping Its Homeless To Squalid Housing Out Of State, Newark Lawsuit Claims
A New York City program coerces homeless residents to move to out-of-state apartments that are frequently dilapidated and uninhabitable, officials in Newark alleged in a lawsuit filed Monday.
The complaint, which names the city of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks as defendants, accuses the city’s Special One-Time Assistance program, or SOTA, of violating commerce laws by pushing recipients into Newark apartments that are not suitable for living and sometimes illegal. The suit comes amid a national battle to mitigate a national homeless crisis that has left many of the country’s urban areas desperate for answers.
