Limited Housing, Services Prevents County from Hosting Large Groups Attempting to Relocate in Broome
Broome County Executive Jason Garnar declared a state of emergency Thursday after reports that New York City may try to relocate large groups of people to Upstate counties. The state of emergency was enacted due to the extremely limited amount of housing currently available in the County.
“Broome County already has a very limited number of places for our own residents to live, both temporarily and long-term. Our shelters and contracted hotels and motels are currently filled with individuals in need of housing. Food pantries are still trying to keep up with the need in the community following the pandemic. Human services are in high demand and our healthcare system continues to be pushed to its limit in the wake of COVID. The limited resources we have are for Broome County residents first and foremost; we do not have the capacity to take on large groups of people should they arrive in our community.”
An associated emergency order prohibits municipalities outside Broome County to contract with hotels and other multiple dwellings without a permit issued by the County. Additionally, hotels and multiple dwellings are prohibited to contract with outside municipalities with outside municipalities upon receiving a permit as well.
The County Executive’s Office is coordinating with Sheriff Fred Akshar, local municipalities, hospitals, schools, and other agencies that may be impacted by any arrival of relocated persons.
The state of emergency and associated emergency orders can be viewed by clicking here.
