Newark, NYC Reach Agreement On Homeless Relocation Program

NEWARK, NJ — Newark officials have agreed to a deal that will put a cap on the number of homeless families that New York City can relocate across the Hudson River under a controversial assistance program.

Last week, the two cities reached a settlement in federal court regarding New York City’s Special One-Time Temporary Assistance (SOTA) program.

The program pays a year’s worth of rent for people living in New York City homeless shelters. Participants can choose to find a place to live in the city, or they can use the funds in another state – including New Jersey.

Under the terms of the agreement, New York City can only move 28 families a year – or seven every three months – to homes in Newark, Gothamist.com reported.

The city must also vet the condition of the homes – which was one of the key issues that led to the settlement. New York City will not owe Newark any money for the families who have already moved across the Hudson River, CBS News reported.

After the SOTA program launched in 2017, more than 2,000 families relocated to New Jersey. That includes about 1,200 who moved to Newark, city officials previously said.

But according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the problem came when the year of free rent was up, and the necessary-but-taxing job of aiding the relocated homeless families fell into Newark officials' laps.

• See related article: Newark Mayor Claims NYC Is 'Abandoning' Homeless In New Jersey

To complicate the situation, many SOTA recipients – including those with young children and infants – reportedly found themselves living in decrepit, unsafe housing once they got to the Brick City because of unscrupulous landlords, who let the properties' condition lapse once they had their payments in hand.

In 2019, Newark filed a lawsuit against New York City in federal court. Attorneys for both sides reached a temporary deal to protect homeless families caught on the sidelines while the lawsuit played out, with New York City agreeing to temporarily stop sending any more SOTA recipients to Newark.

• See related article: NYC Will Stop Sending Homeless People To Newark (For Now)

Newark also passed a local law that imposed inspection and reporting requirements on any agency or person providing rental subsidies to tenants who sought housing in the city. But according to Lowenstein Sandler, the ordinance prohibited any person from “knowingly bring[ing], or caus[ing] to be brought, a needy person to the City of Newark for the purpose of making him or her a public charge” – which is illegal and unconstitutional.

In November 2021, Lowenstein Sandler and The Legal Aid Society spearheaded a class action lawsuit against Newark challenging the Needy Persons Ban.

Newark repealed the ordinance in June 2022. Read More: NJ City Repeals Ban That Fought Controversial NYC Homeless Aid Program

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