Of Politics And Homelessness

Of Politics And Homelessness (Updated)

May 14, 2009

A group of Democratic elected officials gathered on the City Hall steps today to decry the Bloomberg administration's decision to start charging the working homeless rent to spend the night at shelters and vowed to introduce legislation to stop the practice.

Interestingly, the bill, which will change the 1997 state law that requires the city to do this, will be carried in the Senate by Dan Squadron, who was endorsed by Mayor Bloomberg last fall; and Assemblyman Keith Wright, who was aggressively wooed by two mayoral aides who hoped to land his endorsement for their boss.

Squadron, who is vice chair of the Senate Social Services Committee, called the practice of dunning homeless people "penny wise and pound foolish." Asked if it puts him in an awkward position to oppose the mayor on this, Squadron replied:

"I have not spoken to the mayor about this. The mayor and I agree on a lot, but we don't see eye-to-eye on everything. I hope he supported me because he knew I would take positions on issues that I believed were right."

Squadron declined to say whether he will be endorsing Comptroller Bill Thompson, who was also present for the event, against Bloomberg, adding: "I haven't even thought about the mayor's race."

Wright was a bit more outspoken in his opposition to the mayor's homeless shelter policy, calling it "draconian," "absolutely inhumane" and "certainly something that needs to cease and desist right now."

When I asked whether this might influence his endorsement in the mayor's race, Wright replied:

"I wasn't going to endorse him anyway. I'm not endorsing him. And just because someone shakes your hand and exchanges pleasantries with you, which is a change from the old Giuliani administration, it doesn't mean that his policies are good or better than his predecessor, and we're trying to seek changes in those old policies that his predecessor wanted and put forward and that he s now enforcing."

Wright said he has every intention of endorsing Thompson, calling him "one of the smartest persons I've ever known," adding: "We were, actually, classmates in college, and he has done a wonderful job as city comptroller and I think he'll do an even better job as the mayor of the City of New York ."

UPDATE: To clear up the "why now" question. The state, in a 2007 audit, noted that the city did not "offset the cost of homeless shelter payments with client income, as required per (OTDA) regulations." The city sought a waiver from this requirement, but it was denied.

The city fought the audit conclusion up until this year. But then the state threatened to withhold money from the city if it did not comply, and then made good on that threat - to the tune of $2.4 million, according to the mayor's office. So the administration started collecting "rent" payments as of May 1.

Wright On Bloomberg and the Homeless, Endorsing Thompson from Elizabeth Benjamin on Vimeo.

Read more: "The Daily Politics - NY Daily News" - http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/?offset=15#ixzz0FbwsY6G2&A