The Gothamist, August 20, 2024

Families seeking shelter in New York City will no longer be required to bring their children to in-person intake proceedings under City Council legislation passed this week that’s meant to give some reprieve to families.

The bill, sponsored by Council Member Diana Ayala, would codify a pandemic-era practice that gave children the flexibility to appear virtually for their family’s initial application or reentry into the city’s shelter system.

Ayala told reporters before the Council vote this week that she understood the need to enshrine the relatively recent shift into law — based on her own experience with the shelter system.

“I had a one-year-old in a carriage. They don’t want to sit there,” she said during a Thursday press conference before the full Council meeting. “They’re hungry, they’re restless, they don’t want to sit in one place for a certain amount of time.”

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