Latest news with #NewYorkStateComptroller
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Oakley Street homeless shelter moves forward; City of Poughkeepsie considers legal action
The City of Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County Government are at odds about a planned homeless shelter at 26 Oakley St. in the City of Poughkeepsie. This shelter will replace the current PODS shelter, which Dutchess County said has sheltered up to 150 single adults. On May 7, Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino announced the county is moving forward with a plan to provide supportive housing for single adults at Oakley Street, despite the City of Poughkeepsie's hope that the shelter would instead provide housing only for single women and families. The project is funded by a $13 million grant from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and construction is set to begin in spring 2026. Earlier this year, the New York State Comptroller released a report on homelessness outlining the Poughkeepsie and surrounding Dutchess County area, which saw the lowest increase in homelessness across the state, at only 11%. As of 2024, 705 people in the area were homeless. More: New York saw homelessness 'surge' in 2024. What it means in mid-Hudson Valley Dutchess County reports approximately 560 people are currently unhoused — 300 single adults and 100 families with children. These people are housed through a network of emergency options, such as multiple shelters for single adults, two-family shelters, a domestic violence shelter, veterans' emergency housing and placements in local hotels and motels. In recent months, the city and county discussed a concept via a Letter of Intent laying out the framework for the facility to serve families — many of whom, the county claims, are currently placed in hotels. To meet the need in the area and maximize the shelter, the proposed plan also involved serving a limited number of single women. But in a May 7 statement, Serino said the Dutchess County Legislature informed her in the early spring they would not support the plan due to concerns about where the county would house single men and the long-term cost of finding an additional site to house them. With that lack of support, Serino opted not to co-sign the Letter of Intent. "In good faith, we tried to build a compromise that worked for everyone," Serino said. "But when it became clear that the Legislature would not support the plan, I had a choice to make: walk away from $13 million or move forward with a facility that could help the most people. I chose the second option, because I believe we can't keep waiting while people are living without hope, structure, or support." The City of Poughkeepsie Common Council said in a May 7 statement that it may consider legal action against the county for its plan to move forward with the shelter as a space only for single adults. "The County Executive's sudden reversal and refusal to sign can lead to only one conclusion: The County Executive, Legislature and town leaders are loudly proclaiming: 'Not In My Backyard!'" Nathan Shook, Fourth Ward council member and vice chair of the Common Council, said in an email statement. Construction on the shelter is set to begin in spring 2026 for a summer 2027 opening. The county said it recognizes the need for long-term solutions for housing unhoused families and is exploring options. In the meantime, families will continue to be housed through partner shelters and hotels. A $13,023,795 grant from the OTDA will facilitate the project to provide housing, structure and support services for up to 100 individuals experiencing homelessness. The shelter will include 24/7 staffing, on-site case management, mental health and substance use services, job training, and individualized independent living plans for each resident. "We have a long way to go — but we are moving in the right direction," Serino said. "Too often we see examples across the nation of people stuck in a cycle of homelessness. It is time to change that and help lift them up. This isn't just a building — it's a chance." This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Oakley Street homeless shelter plan moves forward despite controversy
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald Trump has just saved New York from its leaders' worst instincts
The Big Apple will no longer take a bite out of motorists' pockets. New York City's $9 congestion toll, a pilot programme approved by president Joe Biden in November and put in place in January, is set to be eliminated, so drivers will no longer have to pay to enter Manhattan's Central Business District below 60th Street. President Donald Trump, who attacked the toll during his presidential campaign, declared on Truth Social, 'CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED.' The unpopular electronic tolls that were originally set at $15, paused before the election, and then reinstated at a lower rate, should disappear shortly. Supporters said that the tolls would decrease pollution and congestion, as well as funding the money-losing bus and subway system. But opponents pointed out that they would reduce trips to New York at a time when the city is still trying to recover from the pandemic, while disproportionately hurting poor people and small businesses. Tolls also punish older and disabled people, who can't take public transport or afford taxis. Crime has skyrocketed all over New York, too, and particularly on the subway. But doing a good deed by giving someone a lift to the doctor, or picking up Granny for lunch, has been punished through a $9 tax. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has nine children and no doubt appreciates the convenience of a family car. He said, 'New York State's congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.' In a letter to New York governor Kathy Hochul, Mr Duffy explained that the congestion charge forces New Yorkers who had already paid for roads through their taxes to pay again – with no free way to travel to central Manhattan. Indeed, the apparent object of the toll was not to improve New York City roads, but to raise money for transit. It was an attempt to paper over the fundamental problem with public transit after the pandemic: fewer people are riding it, so transit systems nationwide are losing billions of dollars. New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates buses, subways, and bridges, lost over $200 million in 2024. The New York State Comptroller predicted that it will lose over $400 million in 2027 and 2028. But there was never any guarantee that the money raised from the congestion toll would have resulted in better public transportation services for New Yorkers. The Transport Workers Union of America, representing New York's transit workers, was always likely to have been one of the big winners of the pilot congestion tax scheme, because it would have kept in work its due-paying members. John Samuelsen, the TWU president, made over $350,000 in 2024, according to Labor Department filings. In 2024 the TWU spent over $3.5 million on political activities and lobbying. Political contributions from the TWU to New York politicians during the 2024 election cycle are available on They include tens of thousands of dollars to the New York State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee and to the New York Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, as well as $25,000 to the New Jersey Democratic Party. In 2022, Governor Kathleen Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James (who were running for four-year terms) each received substantial donations. The new tax essentially looked like a political money-laundering operation that went from motorists to transit workers, from transit workers to unions that represent them, and from unions to New York politicians. It is true that, with more people driving, congestion has worsened. New York City is the most congested city in the world after Istanbul, with 102 hours lost annually to traffic jams. But a great deal of this congestion is self-inflicted. In New York, urban planners have added bike lanes, pedestrian precincts, lower speed limits, and traffic lights that are deliberately designed to slow traffic and encourage people to move to transit. If local politicians desired, New York City could reduce congestion by prioritising traffic flow on the roads. The Big Apple could also charge competitive prices for curbside parking, now free in many places, to keep a certain share of spaces free for delivery vehicles, reducing double-parking and ensuing traffic jams. New York City lost over half a million people between 2020 and 2023, about 6 per cent of its population. Rather than solve its problems, it tried a new tax disguised as a congestion charge, which would have driven more people away. New York should be grateful that president Trump has come to the rescue, saving New Yorkers from their bureaucrats' worst instincts. Diana Furchtgott-Roth is the director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment at The Heritage Foundation Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
