NYC homeless shelter rule faces lawsuit

The City Council voted Tuesday to authorize a lawsuit against the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an attempt to block a policy that would turn away single adults from homeless shelters unless they demonstrate they have nowhere else to go.

The lawsuit would be the first pursued by the council against the city in the six years since Christine Quinn became speaker.

"People in need are going to be sent out into the streets," Quinn said ahead of the vote. "This is a cruel and punitive and wrongheaded policy."

The council action, to be filed next month, is expected to argue that the Department of Homeless Services didn't follow legal requirements for debate and public comment. It will join another legal challenge brought earlier this month by the Legal Aid Society, which is arguing the proposed policy would violate a requirement that the city provide shelter to those in need.

Seth Diamond, the Department of Homeless Services commissioner, disputed both points Tuesday, arguing the agency provided adequate notice and participated in council hearings on a proposal that would ensure individuals receiving shelter from the city truly need the help.

"Ultimately what we need is a policy that has accountability," he said. "Some people who have other places to go are in the shelter system at an expense of $3,000 a month to the taxpayers, and I don't think that's fair. . . . It's wrong to say that the taxpayers should not be able to ask questions and hold people accountable." Diamond said the $4 million yearly savings projected as a result of the proposed policy change represents less than 1 percent of the agency's budget and isn't the reason for it. The agency previously announced it would delay implementing the policy while a judge considers the issue.

If the policy is adopted, single men and women seeking shelter would not be required to provide documentation of their need but would instead go through intake interviews to determine whether they might have a family member who could house them or another resource available to them.