Quijano on Placement of Homeless Residents in Parts of Union County by New York SOTA Program

Assemblywoman Calls on AG to Investigate Matter Further

(TRENTON) – Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union) issued the following statement on recent reports of New York City placing homeless residents in neighboring boroughs of New Jersey, including seven cities in Union County, and paying one year’s rent with no other resources to put their lives back together:

“The New York City Department of Homeless Services through the Special One Time Assistance (SOTA) Program paid for homeless New York residents, who asked them for help, to live in New Jersey communities without any other assistance or access to social services.

          “I ask the Attorney General to get involved in this matter and open an investigation into the particular details of SOTA. It is unconscionable for New York to relocate homeless families here and essentially leave them stranded without regard to our municipalities or state.

“A very real potential outcome for these families is to become homeless again in one year when the SOTA assistance expires. The burden would then lie on the State of New Jersey and the communities these families currently live in. We need to know how many families were treated this way, where they are and the impact this has had on our services, local and state.”