New York City, Newark come to temporary agreement to stop homeless relocation

Tuesday, December 10, 2019
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City's plan of relocating homeless people to other parts of the country upset officials in New Jersey and prompted a lawsuit, but both cities met behind closed doors Monday and came to a temporary agreement.

New York will now stop sending homeless families to Newark while the two sides continue talking.
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Some New Jersey cities had complained about the poor conditions in which these families were living.

Thousands of homeless working families who had been in the shelter system were offered a year of rent if they agreed to leave the five boroughs.

After first keeping it a secret, Mayor Bill de Blasio says he's ready to talk.

"Certainly we want to have a dialogue with anyone, New Jersey or any place else that wants to talk this through about how we can work together on a regional solution," he said. "This is a regional problem."
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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said it's about safety,



"For us, this was always about making sure these people were in safe and sanitary housing, and they were handled in a dignified manner," he said. "Not just jettisoned here with no safety nets."

After the lawsuit was filed,de Blasio accused Newark of "demonizing the poor."

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