“We think this bill will bring much-needed transparency to how the administration is conducting these sweeps, and what is involved in them,” said Councilmember Sandy Nurse. “And if you think about it, especially when it comes to the cost, every dollar spent on sweeps and removals is one less dollar spent on housing.”
Reactions to the news were subdued in City Hall Park Thursday, where the organization VOCAL-NY had gathered to mourn not only Neely, who had been unhoused, but the at least 815 other unhoused New Yorkers who, according to city data, died in the year ending last July.
At a Council hearing, officials said the city has recorded 318,000 “engagements” since February 2022 between street homeless residents and police or outreach workers, including instances where the same individual was contacted multiple times. Of those, 4,600 people have agreed to go into shelter; about 1,300 people remain in those placements.
“Out there you are vulnerable. It’s safer in here behind doors,” Kevin, who declined to provide his last name, told City Limits outside the 30th Street Intake Shelter Thursday. He is among several currently or formerly homeless New Yorkers to empathize this week with the late Jordan Neely.
“These same vacant lots have 314,048 square feet of residentially zoned land on which new affordable housing units may be built, as well as 114,2071 square feet with the potential for manufacturing space that could bring good jobs to the local community.”
“Last month, a New York state judge issued a sweeping order mandating that the NYPD make major reforms to its practices and systems for using sealed arrest records—records the NYPD has been illegally using to spy on and target millions of people for the past 46 years.”
The new Vending Bureau at the Sanitation Department will have nearly 40 employees, up from 14 vendors inspectors in the current configuration. Vendors worry the shift could further penalize their sector, which has seen a recent uptick in city-issued violations, as City Limits reported previously.
“This policy, while likely formed with good intent, is short-sighted and places more strain on a system that is close to breaking. It also shifts focus and continues to villainize individuals who need help, rather than providing the resources that they desperately need. This is a band-aid, meant to make the problem less visible, ignoring the real issues.”
La policía de Nueva York y el Departamento de Protección del Consumidor y del Trabajador (DCWP por sus siglas en inglés) emitieron en conjunto 5.197 multas a vendedores ambulantes el año pasado. La policía sacó mucho más multas, a pesar de la promesa del exalcalde de Blasio de retirarlos. Después de ocho meses de retraso, el DOHMH (por sus siglas en inglés) empezará a expedir las solicitudes para nuevas licencias de supervisión a vendedores ambulantes a finales de mes.
The NYPD and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) together doled out 5,197 tickets to vendors last year, with the police department issuing significantly more tickets, despite a de Blasio-era pledge to shift them away from enforcement. After an eight-month delay, the DOHMH will also begin issuing applications for new supervisory licenses for vendors by the end of the month.
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