The moves come as the number of homeless families in New York is growing by 25 percent a year, with working people squeezed between rising unemployment and soaring rents. An average of 38,000 people were sleeping in city shelters at the end of last year, while there are 9,000 families categorized as homeless. Up to September the number of individuals in homeless families had increased by 10,000 since 1998. "Legions more" sleep on the streets, according to Newsday.

On January 17 city lawyers filed motions in court that would allow the eviction of single adults from shelters for up to 30 days if they violate the rules or procedures. Authorities also want the power to evict single adults who they decide are not cooperating with social service agencies. The "non-cooperation," reported the New York Times, includes the failure to comply with plans drawn up by city social workers, including medication regimes or "job search strategies."

The city government has also declared its intention of repealing the 1981 Callahan consent decree that guarantees single homeless adults the right to shelter. One official claimed that nonresidents of the city were swelling the city’s shelter population and putting a strain on resources. to help people relocate to the city," said James Anderson, a spokesman for the Department of Homeless Services.

The comment was reported in a January 10 New York Sun article entitled, "Out-of- Towners Packing City Homeless Shelters." One six families seeking a roof over their heads is a "recent arrival from out of town, out of state, or event out of the country," it claimed, asserting that "out-of-towners are among some 9,100 families, mostly women with young children, packed into a jury-rigged system of temporary shelters and rented apartments."

An out-of-court decision will allow the authorities to toss families out of shelters if they refuse placement in permanent housing units offered by the city. The deal, worked out between city lawyers and the Legal Aid Society, requires the city to keep open an offer of similar housing of its choice.

Last summer city authorities sparked outrage when they used a former Bronx jail as a shelter. Officials have also considered using mothballed cruise ships as housing for the homeless.  
 
 
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