Handshake Hotels: Part 1
Wednesday June 25 during Morning Edition
Twenty years ago, New York City began moving homeless people into hotel
rooms rented by the night. That business has continued to grow, and this
year the city is on track to spend more than $180 million dollars placing
homeless people in hotels and temporary apartments. But this money is
changing hands without city contracts. In a seven-month investigation,
WNYC's Andrea Bernstein and Amy Eddings found that this system based on
handshakes has a high cost for taxpayers, the homeless, and city neighborhoods.
Andrea Bernstein has the first in our three-part series.
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Handshake
Hotels: Part 2
Thursday June 26 during Morning Edition
New York City increasingly relies on private hotels to house its homeless
people. These shelters sit on private property and operate outside the
city's usual contract process. In a seven-month investigation, WNYC's
Amy Eddings and Andrea Bernstein found that the handshake deals mean communities
and elected officials have no say when these homeless hotels move into
their neighborhood. Amy Eddings has the second in our three-part series.
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Handshake Hotels: Part 3
Friday June 27 during Morning Edition
New York City has been putting homeless people in private hotels for two
decades, and in the last few years city payments to hotels has skyrocketed.
A WNYC investigation found that this business goes to just a few landlords
... and that the city knows almost nothing about them. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein
has the last in our three-part series.
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Interviews:
David Fuld: "We provide a superb service
to families who are in need of it. I think most families you might interview
would suggest they’d rather be in our facilities than elsewhere in
the system."
Listen
Jacqueline Davis: “How long have you lived
in these hotels? Ever since I was 18 off and on I never had an apartment
yet. How are you now? 35.”
Listen
Sadie James: “My youngest is fifteen and I gave temporary
custody of him to my older son until I find a place because he’s
in school and I do not want him traveling around with me every 28 days.”
Listen
Lester and Annette Bell: “We lived in Baltimore, Baltimore,
MD, unlike New York doesn’t do anything for married couples. We lost
our apartment, we lost our job with World Com….We knew how the system
worked and said let’s come to New York to start all over again.”
Listen
Patricia Smith, First Deputy Commissioner, New York City Human
Resources Administration and Bob Bailey, Counsel, HRA. “If it’s
a medically appropriate environment, we will put people there.”
Listen
Linda Gibbs, Commissioner, New York City Department of Homeless
Services, “This is a legal relationship that we have for use of conditional
placements. There is nothing inappropriate about it. What we’re looking
at is trying to build a stronger relationship with the providers that
does use the procurement process.”
Listen
'Handshake hotels' are only part of the city's uncontracted, emergency homeless housing program. Temporary apartments are also used. Read Bernstein and Eddings' report HERE
NonProfit Homeless Housing Provider May Have Misused
Public Funds Part
1 and Part
2
NYC
Homeless Services
NYC
Human Resources Administration
NYC Housing Preservation and Development
| Handshake Hotels home | part 1 | part 2 | part 3