Results tagged “homeless”

Arnold Diaz, who famously exposed the Drunken Negro Cookie baker in his engrossing Fox 5 SHAME segment, is back to send another victim into a shame spiral. This time it's the president of the United Homeless Organization, which sets up tables on seemingly every street corner soliciting donations for the homeless. If the operation had ever seemed a little shady to you, well, it probably is. Diaz digs up the questionable tax filing from the group's president, Steven Riley, and confronts him in Union Square about it. Things get shamelessly physical.

Last year around this time, 61-year-old Tony Award nominee Terri White was sleeping on a bench in Washington Square Park, after being evicted from her apartment of 14 years. Now the stage veteran is back on Broadway in the new revival of Finian’s Rainbow. It's quite an uplifting story, and if you're one of those people who uniformly distrusts police, you may be interested to know that it was an NYPD beat cop who helped save White from the gutter.

According to City Room, the city’s gift program that has been distributing small, personal items, including scarves, backpacks and watches, to the needy since 2002 is feeling the recession pressure. The program has been known to spend about thousands on gifts for single men and women in shelters, including $25,000 buying more than 6,500 watches.

Good news Williamburg: crime is down! In fact, you are one of the safest neighborhoods in New York City, surrounded by a shield of shiny luxury condos. But while the machete slashing may have cooled off for now, "police officers remain vigilant about incidents involving a roving homeless population." Could the Post be speaking of the gutter punks?

American Girl, purveyors of fine, historically accurate dolls, are introducing a homeless girl. "Gwen Thompson" comes with a book with the story of how her father left, her mother lost her job, and they started living in a car. To top it off, customers are "dissapointed [sic] in her bangs, they are awful short and you can't do anything with them." And they discontinued Samantha for this?

Having been on welfare and living on the streets since the '70s, Jan Stein-Sapir now wants her affluent ex-husband Leonard Stein-Sapir to increase his monthly payments, which have been $100 a month for nearly the past four decades. And it wasn't just a normal request for an allowance increase—she's asking for an apartment AND $100,000 for medical and dental reasons. A Manhattan Supreme Court Justice disagreed, despite the fact that Jan is homeless and suffers from a mental disability, saying, "No matter how great the ex-wife's difficulties may be, her life is not the ex-husband's cross to bear. There is no reason why he should shoulder any greater responsibility for her than he already has." The couple was married back in 1967, but split after only a year in order to pursue completely different career paths. Leonard went on to bank big in the food and restaurant industry, while Jan, who moved to New York in 1971, "made no efforts to gain employment," the ruling said (the couple finalized their divorce in 1974). While $100K is a lot to ask for, at least she wasn't attacked with scalding hot water or didn't demand a kidney.

Because the cost of housing homeless families in shelters is so high, the Bloomberg administration has been quietly funding a $500,000-a-year program to buy one-way plane tickets for indigent individuals if they agree to stay away. Well, the program was quiet until it was featured in today's Times, so who knows how many New Yorkers will now start posing as transients for one-way tickets to Burning Man. So far the city has paid for more than 550 families to leave since 2007.

The NY Times reports that the Department of Homeless Services is enacting a new policy giving shelters more power to evict homeless families: "Homeless families can be kicked out of city shelters for repeatedly breaking rules like staying out past curfew or for refusing apartments offered to them." While DHS Commissioner Robert Hess claims it'll be used only in "egregious situations," pointing out some families use the shelters as permanent housing, Legal Aid's attorney in chief Steven Banks said, "With all of the problems that the state has and all of the problems that the city has right now, in the midst of this economic downturn, it’s shocking that the state and the city are prepared to invest the resources to put innocent children and their families out of safety-net shelters onto the streets." But one shelter operator said, "There’s not a caseworker alive that wants to realize that threat, and as an agency, we don’t want to move people to the streets. That’s not what we’re in business to do. But if you enter the shelter, if you know there’s a threat of being put out of the shelter, you’ll be more likely to follow the rules."

[UPDATE BELOW] Around 10:30 this morning, activists for the homeless cut through a fence and seized a vacant lot at 115th and Madison Ave in East Harlem; they say the property is owned by JPMorgan Chase, which is a "recent beneficiary of billions in taxpayer bailout money." The occupation, organized by the group Picture the Homeless, has drawn over 100 activists to the lot, and they've been busy turning it into a festive "tent village," with a casita, a stage, banners, barbeque grills, and two dozen tent structures—inspired in part by Depression-era Hoovervilles. On their blog the group says:

Continue reading "Homeless Activists Occupy Empty Lot In East Harlem"

The Post is ready for its readers to be outraged with an "Exclusive" on how some people abuse 911, the city ambulances and emergency rooms. Example one is "Ricky Alardo, a homeless alcoholic nicknamed Ricky Ricardo" who "swigs cheap vodka by day at his favorite corner in Washington Heights, then calls an ambulance to chauffeur him to the hospital for a free meal and a warm place to sleep, courtesy of taxpayers who fund his Medicaid benefits." (More details here.) He calls 911 "four or five times a week," which works out to $300,000 a year—or $3.9 million over the 13 years he's been running the scam. Alardo proudly says the medics "treat me like a king"—the Post explains,"By law, EMS workers cannot refuse to treat or transport any patient. And ERs have to at least evaluate and stabilize homeless patients." One medic said, "It's not always easy to pick up these guys and take them in. But our policy is: 'You call, we haul.' We have no other choice," while another admits, "When Ricky passes on, I'll probably even go to his funeral. I've seen him almost every day for the last 13 years."

Actor Stephen Baldwin had invited a homeless man to live in the cottage on his Rockland County estate—and now that cops have arrested the man on heroin charges. Apparently Baldwin, aka the youngest Baldwin, met the 51-year-old Jimmy Parks who was living in a tent near a McDonald's in Central Nyack; Baldwin, a born-again Christian, offered him shelter at his home in Upper Grandview. However, police became suspicious after people started to head to the cottage—Parks was allegedly dealing drugs. State Police Capt. Joseph Tripodo said, "Mr. Baldwin didn't have anything to do with this. He's says he's deeply religious and tried to help the guy out. The guy was down on his luck and he loaned him some money and gave him a place to live." Related: The actor has recently been having some mortgage problems.

The city is gearing up for more families to enter the shelter system: The NY Times reports, "Because the homeless population this spring was up more than 20 percent over last spring, possibly because of higher unemployment, officials are girding for an all-time high in the number of families in shelters at once, expecting close to 10,000. Already, the number has reached 9,420...In New York, the number of homeless families applying for shelter in the summer has been 28 percent higher than the rest of the year the last three years." Some families wait till the summer to enter the shelter system, so their children can at least finish the school year, after they decided to leave terrible apartment situations (one family's fight with their landlord left them without gas or electricity for months) or when their relatives kick them. One woman said, "My sister said we couldn’t stay with her anymore. I said once [my daughter is] done with school, we’d get out." The Bloomberg administration says it's ready, and will use some not-quite full shelters and vacant apartment buildings.

The number of families sleeping in shelters is near an all-time high; according to the Department of Homeless Services, there were 34,774 people in shelters last week, including 9,361 families. The Bloomberg administration is now seeking state approval for a new set of policies intended to move families out of shelters more quickly and, according to the Times, apply the "market-driven, incentive-based philosophy to homeless shelters that it has used in schools." Under the new rules, the city would pay shelters more than the usual rate, which is roughly $100 a day, for the first six months that it houses a family. But after six months, if the family has not found permanent housing, the shelter would be paid 20 percent less than the standard rate. Homeless advocates deem the new policies "mean-spirited" and worry that families would be forced out after six months. But Linda Gibbs, deputy mayor for health and human services, insists families would only be ejected for "refusing to look for housing, refusing to seek employment, anything that is an unreasonable refusal to participate in the steps they need to take to overcome their homelessness." In April, homeless advocates blamed Bloomberg for the rise in homeless families.

Last week, the Daily News reported how, at one Brooklyn building, luxury condo apartments were being used to house homeless families, prompting some others to head to the Crown Heights to see if they could score a swank pad. However, Mayor Bloomberg warned that the fancy setting should only be considered a temporary home; he said on Friday, "We're not going to let people just sit there. This is a transition thing. We want to move them out. And if they say, 'Oh, I love this here, I don't want to try something else,' I'm sorry, that's not the whole intent here." The billionaire also added, "When I saw the place I felt like I was on a TV show. I thought this is crazy. It has marble counters and marble bathrooms, the floors are brand new...It tells you about the [real estate] market. Somebody built the building. They couldn't rent it. So they rented it to us for our standard thing." It's unclear how much that "standard thing" is, but the city is paying the Bushwick Economic Development Corp. $2700 per family for housing and counseling services.

After publishing that quintessential degentrification story about a new luxury condo in Crown Heights being converted to a homeless shelter, the Daily News reports that after reading the article, at least four homeless people "flocked" to the building yesterday.

After the city recently started charging rent to the working homeless residing in shelters, questions and criticism soon followed. Now, the NY Times reports, "The Bloomberg administration has stopped charging rent to homeless people who have income and live in city shelters, temporarily suspending a state-mandated program that has been marked by mismanagement and the threat of a lawsuit." The city started collecting rent because of a 1997 state law that hadn't been enforced; recently, the state asked the city to enforce it and pay back $2.4 million in homeless aid. Apparently there were "technical issues" (some notices had errors in how much rent was owed, some notices weren't sent to other families) and the city still hopes to have some sort of rent program. Still, some homeless residents said they were being charged more than 50% of their income (which isn't allowed), they weren't even notified and that this prevents them for saving up to move out of the shelter one day. The Legal Aid Society, which threatened to sue, said, "We would hope that the entire concept would be re-evaluated."

Yesterday, the NY Times revealed that the "Bloomberg administration has quietly begun charging rent to homeless families who live in publicly run shelters but have income from jobs." The city was apparently starting to make good on a 1997 state law—and the state wants the city to pay back $2.4 million in homeless aid. If families do not pay, they could be forced out of shelters. However, advocates for the homeless (already critical of the city's efforts to stop giving homeless families priority for federal housing vouchers) suggest that the homeless and city would be better served if the homeless could save up towards getting a place of their own. One woman, told she needs to pay $336/month rent from her $840/month income told the Times, "I pay my baby sitter, I buy diapers, and I’m trying to save money so I can get out of here. I don’t want to be in the shelter forever." In response to the article, Mayor Bloomberg said, "Everybody else is doing it, and we're told we have to do it, so we're going to do it." Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said, "If this is a state requirement, New York City should be taking the lead in getting it changed."

The Coalition for the Homeless says that Mayor Bloomberg's policies have led to a huge increase in families living in shelters. There are currently 9,400 families (about 28,000 people) in shelters and the group says more families entered shelters in last year than in any year since the 1980s. At fault, the group says, is the city's decision to stop giving homeless families priority for federal housing vouchers, which allows families to pay 30% of their rent while the government picks up the rest. The NY Times reports that the city did create its own program, where the value of the rent subsidies decreased after a year but "It was widely considered a failure," and the city created another program (which still doesn't satisfy critics). Coalition for the Homeless analyst Patrick Markee said, "We felt that it was a mistake in policy four years ago when they did it, and it’s even more mistaken now, given the recession and the rising numbers of homeless families." In turn, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeless Services tells the Times, "While the coalition sits on the sidelines screaming ‘Fire’ and proposing failed solutions, we are working aggressively with a wide range of homeless providers to place more and more families into homes of their own."

According to NYC the Blog, a rather revolting incident took place on on the 2 train Saturday night. Arron Howell, the blogger's roommate, revealed through a series of tweets that he "saw a homeless man on the subway with bugs crawling all over him. I am freaked out I was close to him." Howell said he has "no doubt" the critters were bedbugs, but given the tiny size of the parasites—adults don't exceed 4-5 mm in length—Howell would have had to get pretty close to the guy in order to see them.

Mickey Rourke recently said, "Sometimes when a man's alone, all you got is your dog." The same probably holds true for the man that the Post checks in with who "lives in a van down by the river, literally." Jimmy Tarangelo is able to sustain himself in Manhattan along with his four dogs inside the 20-foot-long Boise Cascade Aristocrat he picked up used for $700 and is attached to the Ford Econoline he uses for storage. He does it all on the $750/a month he takes in via a Social Security disability check for depression. His $7,000 in parking tickets averages out to $600/a month for keeping the van on Clarkson Street near the Hudson in the West Village. He watches DVDs checked out of the library and scores free meals inside a strip joint. Tarangelo says, "I don't like paying rent. I had a house once. I don't mind owning something." As for his biggest problem—finding a toilet when he needs one—we hope that Tarangelo knows he's one printout away from a pee pee dance cure.

The Staten Island Advance reports on the city's efforts to remove homeless people from the St. George Ferry Terminal. About 75 have been living at the terminal this winter, "Though police and city officials were reluctant to chase them into the bitter cold, their presence has become a security and public health issue, sources say, with the eruption of fights and complaints of public defecation."

The city will spend an estimated $59 million this year to house homeless families in buildings occupied by rent-paying tenants, many of whom say their landlords are pressuring them to move out because housing the homeless is more lucrative. In a process known as "cluster-site" housing, the city pays nonprofit agencies to place homeless families in apartments and provide employment help and other social services. The homeless residents are required to sign in and out, and a 24-hour security guard is stationed in the lobby to prohibit visitors.

32-year-old Yusef Ramelize has taken a week's vacation from his job as a production coordinator to dabble in homelessness, as part of an effort to raise awareness and money for homeless shelters and food banks. The experiment started on Sunday night, with Ramelize spending the night in the Union Square subway station, followed by a chair at a McDonald's, before being kicked out for sleeping. According to the Village Voice, he's been staying in touch with the non-homeless (homefull?) community through his iPhone, and friends have been bringing him food at night, though he insists none of the meals are worth more than five dollars. So far he's raised $2,785, but, naturally, one commenter on the Voice website is quick to find fault: "You've got to realize that him taking up a graciously allowed chair at a 24 hour McDonald's denies that chair to someone in need. Sure, maybe the greater good could be served in the long term, but he could be hurting folks in the present. Did he give his apartment over to a homeless person while it was unoccupied for the week?"

Famous writer Gay Talese has written a post for CityRoom (he was a former Times reporter, after all) about writing some more timely signs for homeless people. Truly: He replaced one homeless man's sign, which read, "Homeless. Please help," with the words, "Please Support Pres. Obama’s Stimulus Plan, and begin right here … at the bottom … Thank you." Later, when Talese went home, he printed out the plea and created about two dozen signs—"I taped each page onto separate pieces of laundry board (14 by 8 inches) that the dry cleaner sends home with my shirts"—and distributed them to "random to people who approached me for money." Talese plans to monitor their success, but one told him, “I think I made 10 or 20 dollars more yesterday than before. So maybe the sign is already working.’’

Yesterday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, the trial began in the case of Kenny Alexis, a homeless man who was arrested in 2006 after stabbing three tourists, one of whom he knifed in the heart while riding the downtown C train. The victim, 24-year-old Christopher McCarthy told the jury, "Your body isn't ready for it. You prick your finger, you cut your hand slicing a bagel—this was 1,000 times worse. Maybe more." Alexis is trying to get off on an insanity defense, claiming he is a paranoid schizophrenic. In opening statements, assistant DA Christopher Ryan said, “Even people who are deeply, deeply mentally ill know the difference between right and wrong. Mr. Alexis is an antisocial, ill-tempered man who’s angry at the world.”

The number of homeless families with children entering New York City shelters has risen dramatically in recent months, hitting an all-time high in November, when 9,720 families were reported in the municipal shelter system. According to figures released by the Department of Homeless Services, 1,343 new families were accepted into the shelter system last month, a 43% increase over the 935 who moved into shelters in November 2007.

Today's Post once again blows the lid on what has long been a not so well-kept secret: that the folks around town who sit alongside the jugs labeled UHO (for United Homeless Organization) actually keep that money for themselves while merely paying a $15 a day fee for the jug and a folding table. The Post labels them "glorified beggars" and talks to one who says that the jug is like "giving a homeless person a suit." They also speak to a college student who was irate and told them, "I want my quarter back. That's ridiculous." The paper also reports that UHO does not have the required license to solicit on the street and accuse them of "murky expenses" coming from the nearly $100,000 in contributions the organization reported last year.

The city's Department of Homeless Services has recently begun enforcing a rule that is forcing 22 churches to stop serving as homeless shelters. The long-ignored rule states that religious-based shelters operate a minimum of five days a week. Many of these churches had long slipped under the radar and housed those in need three days a week. Arnold Cohen, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, who recently had to break the news to churches told the News, "We will see hundreds of people who will not have a place to sleep. It's antithetical to what the mayor talks about." The city is expected to once again this winter use the Code Blue system, an emergency-preparedness system that prompts city workers to take extra precautions to protect homeless people living on the streets. Right now we are at Level Two in Code Blue with temperatures outside currently at 17ºF after the wind chill factor.

The Independent Budget Office issued a report noting that the number of homeless families has stayed about the same, comparing this past March with 2004 when Mayor Bloomberg promised to reduce homelessness by two-thirds in 2009, even as investment in homeless services has increased by 20%. This suggests Bloomberg is "falling way behind his goals." City Councilman Bill DeBlasio, who commissioned the report, says it's a "wakeup call." The Coalition for the Homeless has questioned whether the Bloomberg administration has addressed homelessness adequately (there was that recent NY magazine article that said it's the Bloomberg administration's "single biggest failure"), but Bloomberg said his administration is trying every day.

A resident of Sunnyside Queens says her neighborhood now “has hoards and I mean hoards of homeless people, derelicts, and the like that have been all and around the neighborhood harassing people.” Today she wrote into local blog Queens Crap to ask if a new half-way house or homeless shelter has opened up nearby, because “the situation has escalated only within the last month and a half!!!!!!! I was walking home one evening, it was dark and felt someone behind me. I started to walk faster and managed to get into my building but this creep followed me into foyer of the building, he didn’t make it in but he pleasured himself on the main door and tried to come after me.”