NEW YORK
Mayor launches attack on homeless
By Imani
Henry
New York
As of Nov. 19, if you were homeless and forced to sleep on
the streets of this city but refused to go to one of the city's
overcrowded shelters, you could be arrested.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani used a tragic incident to announce
this harsh measure, which probably was on the drawing board
already. He unleashed the cops to sweep homeless people off the
streets after a Nov. 16 attack on Nicole Barrett, a white
office worker who allegedly was attacked by a homeless African
American man.
Sweeps against homeless people in public spaces and subways
have been a routine tactic in Giuliani' s war against the poor
since he took office in 1994. This latest wave of repression is
not only racist and anti-poor but has also targeted people with
mental disabilities.
On Nov. 16, a man with a six-pound paving stone attacked
Nicole Barrett from behind as she waited for a traffic light.
The man then ran off and is still at large. With nothing else
to go on but a description from onlookers, the media have
assumed the attacker is both mentally disabled and homeless.
This comes on the heels of New York police gunning down a
mentally disabled Jewish man in the middle of Brooklyn just a
few months ago.
Giuliani and Police Commissioner Howard Safir announced this
new round-up of homeless people at a Nov. 19 news
conference.
"The streets do not exist in civilized societies for the
purpose of people sleeping there," Giuilani stated. "Bedrooms
are made for sleeping." The mayor seemed not to know that in
New York, bedrooms are an unattainable luxury for many people,
including those with apartments.
Safir gave the green light to unleashed police terror with,
"If they don't obey, then we will arrest."
As of the end of November, over 100 homeless people had been
arrested. A Nov. 22 poll by New York 1 News found that 77
percent of those surveyed opposed the arrest of homeless people
who refuse shelter. The Rev. Al Sharpton and the Coalition for
the Homeless have scheduled a protest and an all-night "tent
city" vigil for the homeless at City Hall Park on Dec. 5.
Falling under Giuliani's so-called "quality of life" laws,
these arrests are part of the effort to further gentrify New
York by handing over working-class neighborhoods to rich
real-estate developers and the tourist industry.
They're also a bid by Giuliani to line up racist,
conservative Republican support from outside New York for his
expected run for the U.S. Senate in 2000. Hillary Rodham
Clinton recently threw her hat into the ring for the Democratic
nomination. Giuliani's strategy is to push the "tough on crime"
image versus her seemingly more liberal positions.
Regardless of the electoral dog and pony show, the fact
remains that you can't vote in the United States without an
address. Neither Democrats nor Republicans want to take on the
real-estate interests and do something about the quality of
life for homeless people, which means tackling the real
issue--the lack of affordable housing.
So people go to shelters in an attempt to keep their
families together while waiting for their names to come up on
housing lists, or when they're unable to afford a rent deposit
on an apartment until wages start coming in.
Housing must be a right
Giuliani pitched this round-up of homeless people as "an act
of compassion" during the so-called "Thanksgiving" holidays. He
had used the same warm and fuzzy lie the week before, when he
announced that people living in shelters would have to take
workfare assignments in exchange for a cot--the ultimate in
slave labor.
Those refusing risk not only being kicked out of the shelter
but even having their children placed in foster care. Once
ejected from a shelter, families and individuals are denied
re-entry for a minimum of 30 days. Giuliani wants to start this
new policy on Jan. 1, 2000.
Over 5,000 families, including more than 9,000 children,
currently reside in the city's public shelters. Another 7,000
single, homeless adults will also be affected by this new
policy.
"How the hell is he gonna say, `Go to the shelters or I'll
arrest you!' this week, when last week he threatened to throw
people out of the shelters and take their kids away?" asked
Vondora Jordan, co-coordinator of Workfairness.
Workfairness, an organization by and for New York workfare
workers and people on public assistance, has called a community
meeting for Dec. 4 in response to Giuliani's latest
attacks.
Instituted in New York in 1996, the strict requirements of
workfare have already purged thousands from the rolls of public
assistance.
"It's a crime and a damn shame that you have to work for a
bed and have to work hard to save your children." Jordan
continued. "There's already a freeze on Section 8 vouchers [for
subsidized housing]. Many families are still at the bottom of
housing lists, and many landlords aren't renting to families on
welfare. Giuliani is attacking not only homeless people or
people on welfare, but poor folks in the city in general."
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.
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