NYC NOW - June 9, 2023: Midday News

Episode Date: June 9, 2023

The smoke has largely subsided but we may not be completely out of the woods yet, a new commission that will explore reparations for slavery in New York won approval from the assembly and senate Thursday and awaits Governor Kathy Hochul's signature, and New York City teens are actively preparing to attend this year's 'anti-prom.' Also, although New York is the sole major city in the country with a right-to-shelter law that guarantees a bed to anyone requesting it, Mayor Eric Adams attempts to modify this policy in the face of ongoing large numbers of migrant arrivals. WNYC’s Elizabeth Kim had a recent meeting with Robert Hayes, the attorney responsible for the landmark case establishing the right-to-shelter law.

NYC now. Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, June 9th. Here's the midday news for Michael Hill. While the air quality is improving, we may not be out of the woods just yet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects the tail end of the smoke will hit our area once again on Sunday. A new commission to explore reparations for slavery in New York could soon come to fruition, a bill to allow its creation passed in the Assembly and the Senate yesterday and awaits Governor Kathy Hokel's signature. New York's law abolishing slavery took effect in 1827, but it allowed non-residents to bring enslaved Africans into the state until 1841. The commission would also examine systemic racism against African Americans since the abolition of slavery and suggest legislative

solutions to remedy its impact. Republicans are asking that a commission seat be reserved for one of their own lawmakers. Governor Hokel says she'll review the bill. New York City teens are gearing up to attend this year's anti-prong. It's a more inclusive alternative to regular school prom. The Grand Concourse Library in the Bronx will host the first of two parties tonight, with its theme is royalty, dripped in gold in honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Yaryana is a 16-year-old teen civic ambassador for the New York Public Library.

She says while regular prom is about celebrating graduation. An anti-prom is more about celebrating your community. It's about coming together to share with people from your community or maybe from other boroughs and just get to know each other. Yariana says while there's no dress code, Bronx teams usually show out for the free event. 69 with some sunshine, a slight chance of showers and thunderstorm. watch out for small hail and gusty winds, mostly cloudy and 72 warmer tomorrow with shower chances. New York is the only major city in the country with a right to shelter law.

It guarantees a bed to anyone who asks for it. But now, with ongoing arrivals of large numbers of migrants to the city, Mayor Eric Adams is trying to change it. WNIC's Elizabeth Kim recently met with Robert Hayes, the lawyer who brought the the landmark case that created the right to shelter law. In many ways, it's fitting that I meet Robert Hayes in Washington Square Park. The warm spring weather has brought out a big crowd. There's the line of people at the popular food cart that sells doses. There's also the buskers, the kids, and the chess players.

As we walk around the park, Hayes starts by telling me what the park used to be like in the late 70s. when he was a young NYU law student. The park, you know, it's always been, you know, beautiful, but it was also very much a place, especially on early morning runs, where people were kind of coming out of their night in the park. And, you know, not in great shape. He found himself having conversations with homeless men.

At the time, the city was in the throes of an even more visible homeless crisis. As I learned more, I kind of got pretty enraged. It was like ridiculous that, you know, and even then the wealthiest city on the planet, there was no room inside with these folks. Those conversations would change his life and the lives of so many homeless New Yorkers. When Hayes was a 26-year-old attorney at a Wall Street law farm, he took on a pro bono case representing a group of homeless men. During his research, Hayes stumbled across an article in the state constitution that said, quote, the aid, care, and support of the needy are public concerns. Then it dawned on him.

So the lawyer goes, is that shelter? And the argument became, if not shelter, what can it mean? It's got to be something to bring people in from the cold. Initially, the case didn't get a lot of attention in the press. Hayes remembers one of the earliest stories in the New York Post. The caption on the picture literally said, Bums in court. But in August 1981, the coverage changed.

That's when the city agreed to a consent decree, a civil settlement that formed the basis of the right to shelter law. Hayes, however, faced one major opponent. There's no other city that does what we do. None. None. Then Mayor Ed Koch was the first of several mayors who tried unsuccessfully to fight the right to shelter. He scoffed when advocates like Hayes argued the root of the problem

was the high cost of housing, and that the city should move the homeless into apartments. Imagine what the situation would be if we guaranteed people an efficiency apartment if they came into our shelters. Just imagine, we'd empty out the world. That argument is not too different from the one Mayor Eric Adams,

is making today. You know, as I stated, I think we're victim of our success that people say, okay, they can handle it, no matter how many come, they can handle it. As he tries to weaken the right to shelter, Adams points to a crisis of unprecedented scale. Over 46,000 migrants are currently in the city's shelter system at a cost of over a billion dollars a year. Hayes thinks about another kind of cost, a moral one. In 1982, he testified before Congress.

that the right to shelter should be adopted nationally. Can any member of the subcommittee estimate the cost of explaining to our young children why there is no room inside for the old woman we pass on the street corner, sleeping in a cardboard box? The national right to shelter never came to be. And now some 40 years later, it's left to a judge to decide whether the law is worth keeping in New York City. Elizabeth Kim, WNYC News. for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

See you this afternoon.