UWS Pol Pens Letter To Mayor Over Allegations At BX Homeless Org

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — City Councilmember Helen Rosenthal and Speaker Corey Johnson sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday outlining their disappointment in the mayor's handling of the allegations that a Bronx homeless service provider regularly assaulted homeless women.

A total of 12 additional council members and eight community organizations also signed the letter in support.

The letter revolves around a recent report from the New York Times that identified 10 women who have endured assault or unwanted sexual attention from Victor Rivera, who oversees the Bronx Parent Housing Network, one of the city's largest homeless shelter providers.

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"We are gravely disappointed by your response to allegations that a homeless service provider, formerly of the Bronx Parent Housing Network (BPHN), regularly sexually assaulted homeless women," the letter reads. "As the New York Times reported, these assaults were carried out in addition to financial exploitation. It is despicable that the City was doing business with an abuser, and continued to do business with him, despite multiple survivors reaching out to the NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) to alert them of the situation."

Rosenthal and her colleagues say that the mayor's administration needs to prioritize the survivors in its response and to hold both the Department of Social Services and the Department of Homeless Services accountable for "the fact that their complaint system is fundamentally broken."

You can read the full letter here.