In the latest skirmish in his on-going dispute with the administration of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Rockland County Executive Ed Day signed a new emergency order designed to block the use of New York City housing vouchers to pay for housing the city’s social service clients in Rockland.
According to Day, the city wants to send social service homeless clients to the suburbs in order to make room in the city for housing new migrants. New York City’s Department of Social Services is allowing city-issued housing vouchers to be used statewide by its low-income residents.
The new emergency order prohibits an outside municipality from providing social services housing in Rockland without a license granted by the county. Landlords also cannot participate in a social services housing program operated by an outside municipality without a license granted by the county.
Day said that his emergency order could help Rockland County deal with an existing housing crisis that is so extreme that the state had Rockland take over building and fire code enforcement in Spring Valley after it was found that some people were living in dangerous conditions.
“It is my duty to protect the general welfare of anyone in the county or coming to the county both long-term and short-term and this new order ensures that,” Day said.
Day compared what he believes New York City is doing with putting too many people into a lifeboat.
“Lifeboats are a great tool to rescue people, but a lifeboat can only rescue so many,” Day said. “If you put too many people into one eventually it’s going to capsize.”
Thank you, Ed Day.