Dutchess County prohibits use of hotels as long-term emergency shelters




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Mike Randall, Poughkeepsie Journal
Fri, May 19, 2023 at 2:41 PM EDT



Dutchess County Executive Bill O'Neil has issued an order prohibiting hotels in the county from being used as emergency shelters.

The order comes as Dutchess County is facing the prospect of migrants from New York City being sent to the county.

So far, no specific arrival date has been announced.

O'Neil issued his order after declaring a state of emergency exists in the county because of the impending arrival of migrants.






Families of asylum seekers are led into the Ramada hotel in Yonkers May 15, 2023. The families were being housed in New York City.

The emergency declaration notes that New York City cannot adequately address the needs of all the migrants and asylum seekers coming there by itself and had issued brochures publicly advertising four-month temporary housing options for asylum seekers in nearby counties in the Hudson Valley region.

But the declaration notes that the health care, mental health, social service and housing resources in New York City far exceed that available in Dutchess County.
Also, the city has neither contracted with the county nor has it provided reasonable notice or details of its plans to transport migrants or asylum seekers to Dutchess County, O'Neil said.

The county also has received conflicting information from the city and hotel operators as to the date, time, location and number of homeless individuals who would be arriving.

Owners of the Red Roof Inn on Route 9 in the town of Poughkeepsie have told county officials they are in negotiations with the city to accommodate the arrival of an unspecified number of individuals on Sunday, but the city would neither confirm nor deny that report, O'Neil said in his declaration.

O'Neil said the county is "ill-equipped to meet the needs of homeless individuals who require immediate shelter" and who might be here for an indefinite time, possibly remaining after New York City ceases to pay for their accommodations and services.

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Therefore, O'Neil issued an executive order directing that all hotels, motels and other buildings allowing short-term overnight rentals be prohibited from operating as an emergency shelter, homeless shelter, rooming house or other long-term overnight shelter.

City, town and village police can be used to enforce the terms of the executive order.

In a statement accompanying his emergency declaration and executive order, O'Neil said the county was exploring its options to take legal action against New York City or any owner of a hotel, motel or short-term rental property who converts the use of that property to an emergency or homeless shelter or a long-term overnight dormitory.

O'Neil said the county empathizes with the migrants and asylum seekers, but the county is already grappling with housing challenges for its own residents.

"For New York City to simply dump these vulnerable souls into a community that cannot provide for their needs is unconscionable and a further example of Mayor (Eric) Adams' failure to create and communicate a well-thought out plan with Hudson Valley counties," O'Neil said in his statement.

Here is what has been happening elsewhere in the region regarding the placement of asylum seekers from New York City:

Newburgh and Orange County challenged the use of two hotels in the town of Newburgh, the Crossroads and the Ramada at Wyndham. A state Supreme Court Justice last week granted a temporary restraining order through June 21, but allowed 186 people already at the two hotels to stay.

The Knights Inn on Route 52 in Liberty, Sullivan County, is supposed to receive 80 migrants. The county declared a 30-day state of emergency but has not yet taken further legal action such as a lawsuit.

In Rockland County, A state Supreme Court justice issued a temporary restraining order barring placement of migrants at the Armani Inn and Suites in Orangeburg. Also, the county's department of health ordered the inn closed because its permit had expired. An application for a new permit has been submitted.

In Westchester County, up to 100 families are expected at the Ramada at Wyndham on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers. The first buses arrived Monday. The county has not opposed bringing the asylum seekers.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Dutchess county executive issues orders preventing arrival of migrants


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