Today's hearing was prompted by the recent arrival of many asylum seekers to New York and the city’s shelters lack of preparedness to assist people in need of emergency housing. Immigrant New Yorkers, including asylum seekers, face many barriers to accessing and maintaining affordable housing. This includes delays in obtaining work permits, lack of access to credit/credit reports and banking systems. These delays make it difficult for recently arrived asylum seekers to secure an apartment in NYC. While these issues have received recent media attention, the problems with the shelter intake process are endemic to the system.

View the full testimony here.