The governor issued an order to protect the homeless from the cold. The order stated that if the temperature decreased up to 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius and below, the homeless will be brought to shelter homes.
According to Star Tribune, Governor Cuomo signed the executive order on Sunday and will take effect on Tuesday. He said that the order is important as the temperature in New York is rising. It is significant to protect homeless people from hypothermia and possible death. The homeless will be brought to shelter homes and other government available facilities even though the individual likes it or not.
Though what the governor want is good, the legality of the order is questionable. The Global News stated that a spokeswoman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Karen Hinton, said the order is impossible and needs a state law to be applied. Hinton added that they support the governor good intent but to forcible move all the homeless individuals is difficult. The order does not give the local government of the cities the resources they need to give home to the homeless families and individuals alike. It also adds no legal support to the things they are required to do.
The Metro stated that the number of homeless people in New York is likely to increase as the amounts of houses are also increasing. In New York City alone, a total of about 58,000 people use homeless shelters and about 3,000 are living in the streets, as a recent survey showed.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press conference that they welcome all types of help. They will certainly need resources for the city to help the homeless people to be inside safe, clean and well maintained shelters.
The order is just one of the plans of the governor to resolve the issue of homelessness in the state. He will reveal his other plans for the state in the coming months this year.
