Le Libérer
11th November 2010, 17:09
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/45749/
SHUTTING DOWN BROADWAY: Activists blocked lower Broadway on Tuesday to draw attention to bill S2664, which would supplement individuals with HIV/AIDS so they pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. 18 protesters were taken to jail.
A planned act of civil disobedience staged on lower Broadway near City Hall Park on Tuesday led to the arrest of 18 protesters, including state Sen. Tom Duane, Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick and representatives from several different housing associations.
As the group lay down on the road to block traffic on Broadway, they shouted, AIDS housing saves lives!
The police were prepared for the act and the consequences were not severe. The 18 detainees will appear in court before Jan. 20 and receive an Adjournment for Contemplation Dismissal, which basically means dont do anything [wrong] for the next six months, explained the events organizer, Jeremy Saunders of Housing Fights Aids (HFA).
The goal was to open up dialogue about the situation of people with HIV/AIDS who are having trouble making ends meet in addition to suffering ailing health. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, people with HIV/AIDS are three times more likely to end up homeless than the general population.
The protesters advocate bill S2664, which would ensure that all low-income individuals with HIV/AIDS would only have to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent.
After rent, I only have $12 a day. Ive had to reschedule medical appointments because I cant afford a Metropass, said Wanda Hernandez, a retiree infected with HIV. Gina Quattrochi, executive director of Bailey House, held up a can of beef stew and box of macaroni and cheese and said, This is what $12 a day can get you.
HFA members have been in regular contact with Gov. Paterson since Assemblywoman Glick first introduced bill S2664 three years ago. Paterson promised to pass the bill, says Glick, if it made it through both an Assembly and Senate vote.
Sen. Duane sponsored the legislation in the Senate and it passed. It also passed in the Assembly. Paterson, however, vetoed the bill in September 2010.
"This is my most difficult veto," said Paterson in a press release. "I recognize, sadly, the history of the inadequacy of services government has brought to bear for those with HIV/AIDS. While expressing regret at the situation, the governor maintained that the cost was too much for his already overextended budget
The Bottom Line
It is not clear just how much that cost will be. The Department of Budget quoted $20 million to be divided by state and city. Bill advocates claim start-up for the bill will be $4.5 million at most, after which it would pay for itself.
HFA claims it costs more to house these individuals in emergency shelters or supportive housing than it would to keep them in their own homes with a 30 percent rent cap.
If an individual makes $15,000 a year, they would pay $375 a month for rent out of their own pocket at 30 percent of their income. According to figures provided by a spokesperson for the New York Department of Homeless Services, it costs about $70 a day to keep an adult in a shelter and about $100 a day to house an adult in an SRO (Single-room occupancy). SRO's are essentially rooming houses for low-income individuals.
According to these figures: it would cost the government $2,100 a month to keep someone in a shelter, $3,000 a month to keep a person in an SRO, and only about $1,125 a month to keep the same individual in his or her own apartment if that apartment cost $1,500, with the individual paying $375.
Whatever the long-term costs, start-up capital may still be slow coming from the depleted state bankroll.
SHUTTING DOWN BROADWAY: Activists blocked lower Broadway on Tuesday to draw attention to bill S2664, which would supplement individuals with HIV/AIDS so they pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. 18 protesters were taken to jail.
A planned act of civil disobedience staged on lower Broadway near City Hall Park on Tuesday led to the arrest of 18 protesters, including state Sen. Tom Duane, Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick and representatives from several different housing associations.
As the group lay down on the road to block traffic on Broadway, they shouted, AIDS housing saves lives!
The police were prepared for the act and the consequences were not severe. The 18 detainees will appear in court before Jan. 20 and receive an Adjournment for Contemplation Dismissal, which basically means dont do anything [wrong] for the next six months, explained the events organizer, Jeremy Saunders of Housing Fights Aids (HFA).
The goal was to open up dialogue about the situation of people with HIV/AIDS who are having trouble making ends meet in addition to suffering ailing health. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, people with HIV/AIDS are three times more likely to end up homeless than the general population.
The protesters advocate bill S2664, which would ensure that all low-income individuals with HIV/AIDS would only have to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent.
After rent, I only have $12 a day. Ive had to reschedule medical appointments because I cant afford a Metropass, said Wanda Hernandez, a retiree infected with HIV. Gina Quattrochi, executive director of Bailey House, held up a can of beef stew and box of macaroni and cheese and said, This is what $12 a day can get you.
HFA members have been in regular contact with Gov. Paterson since Assemblywoman Glick first introduced bill S2664 three years ago. Paterson promised to pass the bill, says Glick, if it made it through both an Assembly and Senate vote.
Sen. Duane sponsored the legislation in the Senate and it passed. It also passed in the Assembly. Paterson, however, vetoed the bill in September 2010.
"This is my most difficult veto," said Paterson in a press release. "I recognize, sadly, the history of the inadequacy of services government has brought to bear for those with HIV/AIDS. While expressing regret at the situation, the governor maintained that the cost was too much for his already overextended budget
The Bottom Line
It is not clear just how much that cost will be. The Department of Budget quoted $20 million to be divided by state and city. Bill advocates claim start-up for the bill will be $4.5 million at most, after which it would pay for itself.
HFA claims it costs more to house these individuals in emergency shelters or supportive housing than it would to keep them in their own homes with a 30 percent rent cap.
If an individual makes $15,000 a year, they would pay $375 a month for rent out of their own pocket at 30 percent of their income. According to figures provided by a spokesperson for the New York Department of Homeless Services, it costs about $70 a day to keep an adult in a shelter and about $100 a day to house an adult in an SRO (Single-room occupancy). SRO's are essentially rooming houses for low-income individuals.
According to these figures: it would cost the government $2,100 a month to keep someone in a shelter, $3,000 a month to keep a person in an SRO, and only about $1,125 a month to keep the same individual in his or her own apartment if that apartment cost $1,500, with the individual paying $375.
Whatever the long-term costs, start-up capital may still be slow coming from the depleted state bankroll.