Judge Limits Denials of Shelter to Homeless

A judge ordered New York City to stop denying shelter to homeless families with children without proving first that they have nowhere else to live. The city must make sure that other housing is available to homeless families before denying them shelter, and then it must tell families in writing why they have been rejected, State Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman said. Lawyers and advocates for the homeless have charged that single and disabled adults with children have been forced to sleep on subways and in abandoned houses because they have been unfairly denied shelter. However, Thomas Crane, a city lawyer, said the city has been doing what Freedman ordered. “She’s basically saying, ‘You have to comply with the law,’ ” he said. Freedman also ordered the state Department of Social Services to supervise and enforce the city’s compliance.