Mayor Adams' Statement on New York City's Right to Shelter Law

May 23, 2023

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the following statement after the New York City Department of Law filed an application for modification of provision of final judgment following a 1984 consent decree in Callahan v. Carey related to the city’s Right to Shelter law: 

“From the start, let us be clear, that we are in no way seeking to end the right to shelter. Today’s action will allow us to get clarity from the court and preserve the right to shelter for the tens of thousands in our care — both previously unhoused individuals and asylum seekers. Given that we’re unable to provide care for an unlimited number of people and are already overextended, it is in the best interest of everyone, including those seeking to come to the United States, to be upfront that New York City cannot single-handedly provide care to everyone crossing our border. Being dishonest about this will only result in our system collapsing, and we need our government partners to know the truth and do their share.     

“For more than a year, New York City has — largely on its own — provided shelter, food, clothing, and more to over 70,000 migrants who have arrived in our city. We now have more asylum seekers in our care than New Yorkers experiencing homelessness when we came into office. When the original Callahan consent decree came down almost 40 years ago, no one could have contemplated, foresaw, or even remotely imagined a mass influx of individuals entering our system — more than doubling our census count in slightly over a year. Our city has done more to support asylum seekers than any other city in the nation, but the unfortunate reality is that the city has extended itself further than its resources will allow.” 

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