On Wednesday, May 16th at 10:00am, we are hosting a rally on the steps of City Hall to address the growing homeless crisis exacerbated by unchecked housing discrimination. We are calling out Mayor DeBlasio for his failure to prioritize low-income housing. In DeBlasio’s proposed budget for the city, he cut funding for the NYC Commission on Human Rights. The Commission is the only city agency that addresses a growing problem called Source of Income Discrimination (SID).
Many people who are struggling to pay rent, including a large number of homeless families and individuals, have rental assistance vouchers like LINC, SEPS, FEPS or Section 8. Landlords often deny people housing who are trying to pay rent with vouchers, even though it is against New York City's Human Right's Law. The Commission has a unit devoted specifically to catching these bad actors, but the problem is massive, especially considering the size and speed of the NYC housing market. DeBlasio should not be cutting funding to the Commission, in fact, he should be increasing it! NYCHU, along with other advocates for the homeless want to raise awareness to the fact that this administration has turned its back on helping low-income people find stable housing.
About NYCHU: The NYC Homeless Union is a coalition of currently homeless, formerly homeless, advocates for the homeless and those impacted by homelessness who are determined to end this crisis. We believe that elected officials have failed at addressing the need for low-income housing in New York City, and the Homeless Union wants to hold them accountable while also advocating for the solutions we believe will make the most effective difference.