Newark sues NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio over sending homeless families to New Jersey

Newark is taking New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to court to stop a controversial program that sends homeless families to live in often-uninhabitable conditions in New Jersey, new court records show.

The special one-time assistance program relocates NYC homeless families across the country with a full year’s worth of rent paid up front. More than 2,200 families have been placed in 62 New Jersey towns with 1,198 in Newark alone.

But local officials say some of these families end up in decrepit conditions -- with no heat, hot water, collapsed ceilings or mice infestations.

In East Orange, NJ Advance Media reported that at least 14 families were placed in eight properties that were illegally rented and never passed local inspections.

“New York has continued to send people despite us having several discussions about our problems with their program,” Newark’s corporation counsel Kenyatta Stewart said. “We need to get a judge involved so they can stop shipping people to Newark.”

Avery Cohen, deputy press secretary for de Blasio, said the administration was reviewing the filing.

"Homeless families and individuals have the right to seek housing where they can afford it -- and attacking their ability to do so amounts to nothing short of income-based discrimination,” Cohen said in a statement. "We will review the complaint and take appropriate action.”

The complaint filed in federal court on Monday comes after Newark officially outlawed the program, making it illegal to bring a needy person to the city and banning landlords from taking more than a month’s worth of subsidized rent. The suit, which names de Blasio and Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks, alleges New York is violating interstate commerce rules by coercing families to sign leases for illegal and uninhabitable apartments, ignoring their complaints and not letting local officials know where the program is operating.

“We want to get a grasp on the people who are here,” Stewart said. “They’re going to be on their own. They’re stuck without any assistance.” He said NYC officials have declined to provide addresses of where families are living.

Housing advocates in New Jersey say while well-meaning, the program prevents tenants from withholding monthly rent payments to force fixes when housing conditions crumble. NYC officials are supposed to inspect apartments in New Jersey before tenants move in but Newark alleges those inspections didn’t happen.

One family which relocated to Newark described being pressured to leave a New York homeless shelter, given only 10 minutes to inspect an apartment and signing the lease online, court records show. A mother of three said she wanted to stay in New York City but was told the vouchers weren’t large enough to cover rent and was taken to tour New Jersey homes -- her first time in the state. Another said there was raw sewage in the basement.

Ranisha Howard said when she complained about her housing situation, one NYC official told her, “we can’t help you because you are a Newark resident now,” court records allege.

Newark is seeking a temporary restraining order against the de Blasio administration to stop it from implementing the program in Newark. The complaint also ask for a list of all families relocated to Newark and amounts paid to landlords up front. It is also demanding a financial fund to help accommodate families who want to stay in Newark.

Responding to Newark’s decision to make the program illegal last month, NYC’s Department of Homeless Services spokesman Isaac McGinn previously said families have a right to seek affordable housing "wherever they can find it.”

“We of course share Newark’s concern about unscrupulous landlords and we have strengthened our programs to protect those we serve. We look forward to working with Newark on these issues," he said in a statement last week.

Karen Yi may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.

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