New York – May 12, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — In March, the NYC Department of Investigation released a report that highlighted unacceptable living conditions in our City’s shelters and raised significant issues about how the Department of Homeless Services identifies and cures health and safety violations.
In light of this report, today, I am rejecting two permanent shelter contracts which I will not approve until my office receives assurances that anyone staying in these facilities will be safe, all outstanding violations and complaints have been corrected and all documentation that the requirements of the contracting process were met. We simply can and must do better on behalf of the 60,000 people, including nearly 25,000 children, who are under our care.
Today, I have sent two contracts back to the Administration for further review:
Samaritan Village Inc.: Standalone Transitional Residence at the Pan American Hotel, 79-00 Queens Boulevard – Queens
Aguila Inc.: Standalone Transitional Residence at the Aladdin Hotel, 317 West 45th Street – Manhattan
I applaud Mayor de Blasio for taking steps today to create an inter-agency repair squad to examine building, health and safety violations. I look forward to working closely with this group to meaningfully change the way the City procures and operates our homeless shelters.
Visit www.comptroller.nyc.gov
Contact : Eric Sumberg, (212) 669-3535, esumberg (at) comptroller.nyc (dot) gov –
