Governor signs order to protect homeless in frigid temps

The Democratic governor in an NY1 interview Sunday called it a New Year’s resolution for the state to keep people out of the frigid weather. ‘By the way, there is a philosophy out there that says people have a civil right to sleep on the street and freeze to death if they want to.

“I applaud him for recognizing the issue, but it just takes a little bit more planning and I am a little concerned about the involuntary rounding up of people”, said Dale Zuchlewski, Executive Director of Homeless Alliance of Western New York.

Advocate Judith Goldiner, who is head of the law reform unit at the Legal Aid Society, is not so sure the law is on Cuomo’s side. “The bottom line if they do the training, and they do the individual assessments, I’ve got no problem with that”. They are to question them and figure out if they have a place to go.

Cuomo said Sunday he signed an executive order to protect the homeless.

State law also allows authorities to involuntarily detain people deemed mentally unstable, though David added that “obviously, the order does not mandate involuntary commitment for competent individuals”, calling such suggestions a “red herring”.

The Homeless Alliance of Western New York, in collaboration with other agencies, has already helped to drastically reduce the long-term homeless population in Buffalo.

Cuomo was expected to brief the city and other communities across the state on his executive order over the weekend.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he’s ordered homeless shelters to extend hours so anyone without a home can remain indoors when temperatures are below freezing.

The order will go into effect on January 5.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, takes his seat before testifying at the Joint Legislative Hearing Wednesday morning February 25, 2015 at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. He also said the state will soon announce a “full plan” to address the homeless crisis. One, known as “Mama Doe”, was forced out of Grand Central Terminal around Christmas in 1985 and died of exposure. It often takes months – or even years – to build a successful and trusted relationship with a homeless person, which means it may be a challenge to implement the Governor’s orders so quickly. You can’t force people off a public street, ‘ said Luis Diaz, 31.