Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz To Condemn City Loopholes That Will Harm Homeless Families

Today, October 12th, at 4:00 PM, New York State Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz will be joined by Patrick Markee of the Coalition for the Homeless and elected officials to hold a press conference in front of the Bronx County’s Emergency Shelter – PATH – located at 346 Powers Avenue, between East 141st and 142nd Street to condemn the new Bloomberg Administration policies that will deny overnight emergency housing for many homeless New York families.

“It is a disgrace that in the interest of closing loopholes, the Bloomberg Administration has decided to deny overnight emergency shelter to families who show up after 5pm and find their names on a list of ineligible families,” stated Senator Rev. Diaz, a Member of the Senate Committee on Social Services, Children & Families. “Mothers, fathers and children who have no place to turn will be forced into spending the nights riding the subways and living in the park. This policy will hurt many families. According to the City’s own rules, these changes will also put families who already reside in City Housing at risk of losing their apartments if they take in homeless relatives.”

Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz intends to work closely with homeless advocates to challenge the Mayor’s new policy.

For more information, please contact Ms. Camella Price at 646/382-5204, or Mr. Marcos Crespo at 646/228-2607