Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 1 p.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 3
Committee: Committee on General Welfare
The Committee on General Welfare, chaired by Crystal Hudson, held an oversight hearing on shelter safety and considered two bills: Introduction 99, sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer, requiring DHS to report annually on families with children placed in the same or adjoining zip codes as their last address, and Introduction 387, sponsored by the Public Advocate, requiring annual reporting on critical incidents in shelters. A panel of current and former shelter residents described staff mistreatment, unsafe conditions and grievance processes that fail, and Commissioner Erin Dalton of the Department of Social Services testified with DHS deputies about security staffing, training, repairs, incident data and the pending legislation. Council members questioned the administration extensively on hotel-shelter violations, safety transfers, peace officer training and vacancies, language access, whistleblower protections, mental health services and Rikers closure planning. Numerous members of the public and advocacy organizations testified, largely criticizing shelter oversight and grievance handling and supporting or conditioning support on the two bills. No votes were taken during the meeting.
0:23 Ready just
0:23 . Good afternoon welcome t
0:24 othe committee on general
0:26 welfare at this time we ask
0:27 that you please silence all
0:29 electronics if you wish t
0:30 otestify please see one of the
0:32 sergeants at arms in the back
0:33 and at no point please do not
0:35 approach the dais chair you
0:37 begin thank you good afternoon f
0:41 the New York City Council's
0:44 general welfare committee and
0:46 my pronouns are she her thank
0:47 safety we are additionally
0:53 joined by council members
0:55 murano heung and Wilson sorry
0:57 I thought it was somebody else
1:00 over there
1:00 . Every New yorker deserves a
1:01 safe place to live including
1:03 New York er's who turned t
1:05 othe City for shelter during a
1:08 period of crisis shelter must
1:09 be more than a roof over
1:11 someone's head it must be a
1:13 place where people can rest
1:14 without fear of violence
1:16 access the support they need
1:17 and be treated with respect
1:19 . However we have heard too
1:22 many concerns about conditions
1:23 that can make shelters unsafe
1:26 including deteriorating
1:29 facilities overcrowding
1:29 violence theft and
1:31 insufficient staffing when
1:33 people feel that entering a
1:34 shelter puts their safety
1:36 security or dignity at risk
1:37 they choose not to enter
1:38 shelter at all some of the
1:41 major safety issues we will
1:42 look at today include not just
1:45 security incidents such as
1:47 arrests thefts or violence but
1:48 also how the shelter systems
1:52 systems design can impact
1:54 physical and mental health and
1:57 well being exacerbate and t
1:59 oturn New yorkers from engaging
2:01 with our shelter system and
2:02 making use of the robust
2:04 social safety net can provide
2:06 the New York City shelter
2:08 system is sprawling in the
2:11 1980s a series of lawsuits
2:12 resulted in the establishment
2:14 of a right to shelter in New
2:15 York City this was an
2:17 incredibly important step
2:19 towards serving on house New
2:20 York er's er's and resulted in
2:21 the City needing to increase
2:24 shelter capacity over the last
2:26 40 years the number of
2:27 shelters and the shelter
2:28 population has grown just this
2:30 past Sunday over 83000
2:32 individuals slept in our
2:34 shelters
2:35 . Today there are over 500
2:36 shelters throughout the City
2:38 that serve single adults adult
2:40 families and families with
2:41 children the majority of
2:43 shelters are operated by
2:45 contracted nonprofit
2:46 organizations and while most
2:47 of these organizations are
2:49 dedicated to serving New York
2:50 er's third party contracting
2:52 can result in oversight and
2:54 compliance challenges
2:56 including sometimes funding
2:58 unscrupulous actors
3:00 subsidizing exorbitant
3:01 executive salaries or
3:03 inadvertently developing
3:04 contracts that force providers
3:05 to focus more on volume then
3:07 long term sustainable outcomes
3:09 and client well being
3:10 . Further the additional layer
3:12 of administration can make it
3:14 difficult for providers to
3:16 make essential repairs or
3:17 changes to premises that
3:18 improve safety and security
3:20 last week at our joint hearing
3:21 with the committee on veterans t
3:25 the difficult and lengthy
3:25 lengthy process for making
3:27 essential repairs to the
3:28 borden avenue veterans
3:30 residence resulting in a multi
3:31 year process to repair a
3:33 leaking roof.
3:34 Two days is an opportunity
3:36 to hear from about how they
3:38 address shelter safety
3:40 concerns conduct oversight of
3:40 challenges to shelter safety
3:43 and to hear from the public
3:43 about what the City can do
3:45 better in addition to today's
3:47 oversight on shelters shelter
3:48 safety we will also consider
3:50 to bills intended to
3:53 strengthen transparency and
3:53 accountability in the shelter
3:55 system introduction 9
3:56 9sponsored by Council Member
3:58 Gale Brewer would require the
3:59 department of homeless
4:00 services to report annually on
4:01 the number of families with
4:02 children placed in shelters in
4:05 the same or in adjoining zip
4:06 code as their last address
4:07 . Council Member I now pass t
4:10 oyou to make a statement about
4:11 the legislation you're
4:12 sponsoring today thank you
4:14 very much intro 99 as you
4:17 heard earlier would require
4:18 the department of homeless
4:20 services to do this anal
4:21 report on the number and
4:23 percentage of families with
4:25 children in the system who are
4:26 placed in the same zip code as
4:29 their last address prior t
4:31 otheir placement into a shelter
4:32 and the number and percentage
4:34 who were placed in an
4:36 adjoining zip code.
4:37 Families entering the
4:39 shelter system as you know.
4:42 Should be able to remai
4:42 nclose to their schools their
4:45 child care their doctors their
4:46 jobs and their community
4:48 support networks whenever
4:51 possible
4:51 . Placing families far from
4:52 their former homes creates
4:54 additional hardships
4:55 particularly for families with
4:56 young children who rely on
4:58 nearby child care and family
5:00 support.
5:00 We in the council and the
5:03 public need to know how often
5:05 families are placed in
5:07 shelters in their former zip
5:08 code or an adjoining zip code
5:11 currently this information is
5:12 not regularly reported.
5:15 Until 99 requires a report
5:18 annually on shelter placements
5:20 with data broken down by
5:21 burrow and by families with
5:23 children under age three and
5:25 those with older children
5:28 . I believe that this
5:29 reporting will help the
5:31 council identify where
5:32 families are being displaced
5:35 from their communities and
5:36 push for shelter placement
5:39 policies that minimize
5:41 disruption until children's
5:42 lives I must admit during the
5:44 issue when we had so many
5:46 wonderful migrants here I
5:48 really appreciated the work
5:50 that the adams administration
5:51 did despite all the challenges
5:53 and housing people with the
5:56 the time we work really really
5:57 hard to keep people people
5:58 move shelters to keep them in
6:01 there a school zone and two m
6:04 ea based on all of this.
6:06 Criteria to remain close
6:10 schools are the most important l
6:14 particularly to try to kee
6:15 pthe families near their
6:17 schools absenteeism a deal we
6:19 or whatever the hell is called
6:20 now New York City public
6:23 schools is huge and I have a
6:24 horrible a horrible feeling
6:25 that part of it is because
6:26 people just can't get t
6:28 oschool I also also always want
6:29 to thank winn for their
6:31 . Support thank you very much
6:34 Madam chair
6:34 . Thank you Council Member
6:36 intro number 387 sponsored by
6:39 the public advocate would
6:40 require annual reporting on
6:41 critical incidents and
6:43 shelters it would also require
6:45 information about efforts t
6:46 oimprove shelter security and
6:48 agreements with the nypd or
6:49 other entities to enhance
6:51 safety I now pass to the
6:53 public advocate to make a
6:54 statement about the
6:55 legislation he's sponsoring
6:57 today.
6:57 Thank you Madam chair good
7:00 morning miss public City of
7:01 New York more importantly the
7:03 knicks Won a game last night
7:04 very excited about that I want
7:06 to thank jay Hudson and the
7:07 members of the committee on
7:07 general welfare for holding
7:09 this hearing as of October
7:11 2026 a total of 83000
7:13 individuals reside within our
7:15 cities shelter system
7:16 including 51000 families with
7:19 children countless others
7:20 braved the harsh elements
7:21 outside deterred by unsafe
7:22 conditions in the shelters my
7:25 bill intro 387 will require
7:26 the department of homeland
7:29 services to produce an annual
7:31 report detailing critical
7:32 incidents occurring in the
7:33 shelters including assault
7:34 sexual assault domestic
7:36 violence child abuse or
7:38 neglect weapons possession
7:39 arson and theft it's my hope
7:40 that with more accurate
7:42 reporting efforts to upgrade
7:43 security and shelters and
7:45 enhance people's safety and
7:46 well being will be more well
7:48 informed and overall more
7:49 shared about agreements made
7:55 between the New York City
7:56 police department nypd and
7:58 other entities responsible for
7:59 safety and security.
8:00 Under current reporting
8:03 officials have classified
8:04 priority one incidents as the
8:06 most serious incidents
8:07 involving a source arrests
8:09 medical crisis overdoses and
8:10 deaths in one woman's shelter
8:12 priority one incidents have
8:13 increased drastically rising
8:15 from 123 and 20 19 2 208 in 2
8:20 024 and frisky at 20 25 the
8:22 rate of priority one's at this
8:24 facility were over double the
8:26 citywide average for single
8:28 adult shelters while the rain
8:29 and severity of incidents vary
8:32 across shelters trends of
8:33 violence hold true across the
8:34 system especially in larger
8:37 shelter sites bellevue the
8:38 city's largest shelter for
8:39 single adult men which closed
8:40 earlier this year for
8:41 redevelopment.
8:42 Was also characterized
8:43 unfortunately by violence.
8:45 I was someone who uplifted
8:45 other other piece of
8:46 legislation being heard today
8:47 for which I am proud to co
8:49 sponsor Council Member intro
8:50 99 which she just spoke about
8:53 would require details to
8:53 report on the placement of
8:54 families with children in
8:56 shelters specifically the rate
8:56 of families and children who
8:57 are placed within the same or
9:00 in adjoining zip codes as
9:02 their last address prior t
9:05 oshelter placement displacement
9:06 from one's home is already a
9:07 source of significant stress
9:09 and emotional people for
9:11 families but
9:11 . The in neighborhoods nearby
9:13 would avoid disruption
9:14 disrupting children's school
9:16 lives and teens adding an
9:16 additional layer of
9:17 uncertainty and rest this data
9:18 will better help us understand
9:19 what happens when families
9:21 enter the system.
9:21 And how we can better
9:23 mitigate disruption in the
9:23 lives of our youngest New
9:24 yorkers as the administration
9:26 seeks to revamp the shelter
9:27 system following this cold
9:28 snap of last year we must
9:29 ensure that New York is
9:31 experiencing homelessness not
9:31 only have access to shelter
9:32 but the spaces that are safe
9:34 and truly livable these bills
9:36 are one step towards ensuring
9:38 safety and security within
9:40 shelters and I look forward t
9:41 ocontinuing the work with the
9:42 agencies in this
9:43 administration thank you Madam
9:44 chair thank you so much public
9:45 advocate I look forward t
9:46 ohearing from the
9:47 administration and the public
9:49 about these proposals and I'd
9:50 like to conclude by thanking
9:52 the committee staff for their
9:52 work on this hearing hanna
9:55 cohen nina rosenberg justine
9:57 campos faria raymone elizabeth
9:59 childers garcia julia haram is
10:00 colby porter and maggie
10:02 giordano I'd also like t
10:03 othank my staff andrew wright
10:05 ali karu anton and demi brown
10:08 before we hear testimony from
10:09 the administration we will
10:11 hear directly from a panel of
10:12 individuals who have
10:13 experience with New York City
10:15 shelters and who have joined
10:16 us here to provide testimony
10:19 so first we will hear from
10:23 denton hutchinson after we
10:24 will hear from janet jackson
10:26 and last we will hear from
10:28 sprain okay and we've been
10:55 joined by councilmember Nurse
11:05 . And I did fail to recognize
11:08 that Council Member Brewer was
11:11 thank you denton hutchinson
11:30 good afternoon my name is
11:32 denton hutchinson I'm with I'm
11:33 with the community leadership
11:35 collective are coalition for
11:37 the homeless well I thank you
11:39 for holding this long awaited
11:42 hearing today on safety in
11:45 shelters I was in shelter for
11:46 seven over seven years an
11:49 honor recently was able to get
11:51 housing and leave shelter
11:53 during my seven years in
11:54 shelter I was transferred
11:55 around to many sites but I saw
11:59 the same issues a different
12:02 shelters one of the hardest
12:04 parts of living a shelter is
12:06 how people are treated by
12:09 staff including the security
12:11 staff who were supposed t
12:12 ocreate a safe environment or
12:16 whether it was a police or
12:19 private security guards they
12:22 treated us with absolute
12:23 disrespect and complete
12:25 disregard for lives it's good
12:27 guys don't De escalate
12:29 conflict they only escalate
12:31 them or they just ignore it.
12:35 In one shelter I was in I
12:38 noticed someone sleeping on
12:39 the floor on the back of the
12:42 recreation room in the morning a
12:46 chis shall the security staff
12:49 stationed about six steps away
12:50 from the recreation room
12:52 . They said that he had missed
12:54 his bed check so he had t
12:55 osleep on the floor how was
12:59 later in the afternoon I came
13:03 back and I was and he was
13:05 still lying we're unmoving.
13:06 I spoke with security staff
13:11 again studies that is telling
13:12 them that he had moved since I
13:14 saw him that morning d h s
13:16 security finally walked over
13:18 to see him and discovered he
13:23 was dead it was horrifying t
13:27 osay the least he was someone
13:30 that I knew directed with him
13:34 uh they let him lay there
13:35 steps away all night and day
13:36 without even bothering t
13:37 ocheck on him or do anything
13:39 that could have saved his life f
13:42 do not care about the lives of
13:44 people in shelters in other
13:45 instances I was the with the
13:46 worst case of shingles because
13:48 of the shingles I could only
13:49 wear the lightest of clothing
13:50 because it hurt so
13:52 excruciatingly bad it was the
13:54 middle of winter there was an
13:57 altercation police required
13:59 all residentially the building I
14:02 could stay inside or go to my
14:03 bed or another room because I
14:04 was sick and didn't have
14:06 winter clothes on and it was
14:07 very cold out they said I had
14:10 to leave and I stood outside
14:11 in a cold wearing two next t
14:15 oto worried about apathy mia
14:16 and my health again this only
14:19 good shoulder shelters and
14:20 security staff do not care
14:21 about the lives and well being
14:24 of the shelter residence
14:25 residence those of us who have
14:25 no place to go but shelter
14:27 deserves basic respect our
14:30 dignity but that is not what
14:31 we get in shelter want t
14:33 othank you for this opportunity
14:35 to testify thank you so much
14:38 for
14:38 . Sharing appreciate it.
14:39 Janet jackson good afternoon
14:43 . Good afternoon my name is