Hotel Space Use for Housing Homeless Now Possible as Governor Hochul Signs Law
Governor Kathy Hochul today signed new legislation (S.4937C/A.6262B) to create more flexible rules for converting underutilized hotel space into permanent housing. Governor Hochul signed the bills with Senator Brian Kavanagh, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and housing and labor advocates.
“As New York’s housing crisis continues to impact families, we’re taking bold action, embracing innovative ideas and thinking outside the box to help ensure that New Yorkers can access safe, livable, and quality affordable housing,” Governor Hochul said. “This new law allows us to tackle the affordability crisis head-on and convert empty, underutilized spaces into homes. I thank Assembly Member Cymbrowitz and Senator Kavanagh for sponsoring this bill and taking this step to ensure that New Yorkers have a place to call home.”
“Converting underutilized hotel space into affordable housing will provide thousands of struggling New Yorkers an affordable home in locations that otherwise would have been inaccessible to them,” said Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado. “Creative solutions like this provide equity in housing and help families who are experiencing homelessness or instability.”
State Senator Brian Kavanagh said, “Allowing conversion of underutilized hotel space into affordable permanent housing represents another critical step we are taking toward ending the crises of unaffordable housing, evictions, and homelessness that have gripped New York for far too long. I thank Assemblymember Steve Cymbrowitz for his partnership in getting this bill through the legislature, Governor Kathy Hochul for her strong leadership and her commitment to delivering on the promise of ensuring that everyone has access to an affordable place to live, Mayor Eric Adams for his advocacy and for the work his administration is prepared to do to convert hotels to homes, President Rich Maroko and the Hotel Trades Council for embracing this cause and always fighting for good jobs, Ted Houghton of Gateway Housing for his expertise and tireless work to get this done, and the many providers of affordable housing and advocates for housing, homes and services for homeless New Yorkers, and sensible land use policies that balance the need for housing and economic opportunity, who all played a critical role in enacting this legislation.”
HOUSING NEEDED FOR UKRANIAN FAMILIES
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. June 7, 2022:
Irena Portenko ( e mail below) [email protected] is asking for YOUR HELP identifying possible housing for Ukrainian refugees who desperately needs housing.
Please e mail Irena if you can help. These families have gone through so much in recent months. It would be fantastic if our caring community would help these families during this tragic time in their lives. Please copy me on your e mails at [email protected]
- Last week we got a request from someone from Chabad Rivertowns with news of a family that wants to come to America at the end of June or early July.
- They have Humanitarian Parole through the United for Ukraine program. The family is from Bucha outside Kyiv, where their house was leveled through the Russian attacks. Their nest egg was there, so they lost everything except their car.
- Artem, the husband, speaks fluent English. He codes in C#/.Net and can work for a software company when he gets his work visa. His wife was an architect but worked as a homemaker most recently. They have two kids, a four-year-old daughter turning 5 in November (Kindergarten next year?) and a one-year-old son. They are currently living in Poland.
- They initially escaped across the border a week before the war started in February to Moldova. They got scared as the war began and moved to Poland as far west as possible as they were concerned the war would come to Moldova.
- Then through local contacts, I heard about a young family from Ukraine that arrived a few days ago in Dobbs Ferry through United for Ukraine from Portugal. They have family in Dobbs Ferry.
- The family members are Oleksandra Kushmela-30 years; Pavlo Kushmela-38years; and Ustym Kushmela-6years. Oleksandra was studying at Sevastopol National University of Nuclear Energy and Industry and after working at the Khmelnytska Nuclear Station. Pavlo studied English philology and worked as a seller manager after. She also has a florist diploma.
- A Ukrainian woman is here in Brooklyn with her elderly mother, who is 91 years old. The older woman arrived on a B1/B2 visa (which can be extended) back in March and needs help with her hearing aid. She is deaf, and while in transit to the U.S., her hearing device broke down. They need help with housing.
ADOPT A NEIGHBORHOOD IN UKRAINE–HELP A UKRAINIAN BUSINESS
I recently had the opportunity to interview Sergei Glazunov on my WVOX 1460 radio program. He is from Ukraine, experienced the shelters and early days of the war and now is trying to make contacts with the Westchester community – starting to make plans for the rebuilding of Ukraine. He can be reached at [email protected].
If you know of anyone who would be interested in helping a business in Ukraine re-start; assisting a neighborhood that was bombed during the war, connecting with neighborhood leaders in Ukraine , organizing an adopt a Ukraine neighborhood please contact Sergei.
. Here is the link – https://youtu.be/XiX0iDk4cKs
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
QUERY: IF YOUR BUSINESS, INSTITUTION, ATTRACTION MANDATES MASK-WEARING IN YOUR FACILITY, WE WANT TO PUBLICIZE YOUR POLICY IN NEW GUIDE
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. June 7, 2022:
We are writing to seek your help on a new project. Mandate Masks NY is putting together a guide to businesses, museums, and other public spaces in NYC and surrounding areas that are still requiring masks and other COVID-19 prevention efforts to protect people, including high-risk staff, customers, and visitors.
We would love your help on this project! Do you know of any businesses or other public spaces that are still requiring masks and other COVID-19 prevention efforts in NYC and surrounding areas? And/or can you help us find out?
To collect info, we have an online form here- https://forms.gle/eKsgsQy4FV9SRcNNA . Please fill this out with any businesses or other public places that you know of that are still requiring masks and other COVID prevention efforts. (ex: grocery stores, bookstores, museums, pharmacies, banks, laundromats, etc). We are currently focused on NYC and the surrounding areas, but may expand at a later date.
We would love your help in finding more places to add to our list! More info and tips about contacting businesses are on the form. For those on Instagram, we have been highlighting and thanking businesses that are still requiring masks on our page at @MandateMasksNY.
We have already had some businesses we reached out to reinstate their mask mandate after we contacted them about this!
If you are interested in getting more involved with the project and helping to organize, please send us an email.
Thanks for all your help!
Mandate Masks NY
Website: http://mandatemasksny.org/
Twitter: @MandateMasksNY
Instagram: @MandateMasksNY
#MandateMasksNY