Monroe County officials and a group of local lawmakers and housing advocates held dueling news conferences on Wednesday surrounding the county’s approach to providing emergency housing, following the removal this week of dozens of homeless families from a Motel 6 in Gates.
Deputy County Executive Jeff McCann and Human Services Commissioner Thalia Wright defended the county’s move to relocate people from the hotel, saying its hand was forced by its owner and manager giving conflicting and confusing messages about their ability to shelter families there.
Meanwhile, county legislators and advocates for the homeless called on the county to create a Housing Quality Task Force and establish new rules for shelters and hotels in which it places people who need emergency housing.
The city of Rochester established its own 21-member Housing Quality Taskforce last year, which has sought to guide legislation related to tenant rights and code enforcement, among other issues.
Among the rules they suggested was one requiring shelters and hotels to provide the county with at least 60 days' notice if they plan to opt out of accepting homeless clients, and that the properties meet health and safety codes and offer kitchens or meal plans.
“This is not working for people and we’re not treating them well,” said County Legislator Rachel Barnhart.
She and others spoke from the courtyard of the Motel 6 on Chili Avenue, where the exodus of homeless families that had been living there has highlighted the severity of the crunch in temporary and affordable housing in the Rochester area.
Upward of 40 families were residing at the hotel when they were informed a week ago by the county that they would have to vacate. County officials said Wednesday that roughly 10 families remain at the hotel and that social workers are still trying to find them new temporary shelter.
Why the families, which included upward of 130 children, were forced to leave the hotel has been the subject of some debate.
Emails between hotel staff and county officials last week suggest a breakdown in communication that was touched off when the hotel’s owner wrote, “Until further notice we are not taking any more placements.”
The owner, Bisma Khan, later attempted to clarify in subsequent emails that the people already housed there could stay, but it was too late. The county had already set a plan in motion to find them new lodgings.
County officials have also cited concerns with sanitation at the hotel as a motivating factor, and on Wednesday released inspection reports that documented problems with pest management, fire hazards, and general cleanliness.
“With the information that we had at Motel 6, (the Department of Human Services) had no choice but to begin urgently planning and looking for housing and alternative shelters for the 40 or so families that were going to be displaced,” Wright, the DHS commissioner, said. ". . . The last-minute nature of their evicting placements, combined with their continuing violation of sanitary codes, was enough for us to move on.”
A unified message from both news conferences was that temporary housing for people and families in need is hard to come by.
County officials said they place people at about a dozen different hotels, as space is available.
The lawmakers and housing advocates who gathered at the Motel 6 challenged the administration of County Executive Adam Bello to draw from a county budget surplus to address the housing crisis.
To that end, McCann, the deputy county executive, said the county is working on establishing a county-run emergency housing facility and that it could be operational by the end of the year. WXXI News reported in June that the county was eyeing a former hotel at the edge of the Corn Hill neighborhood.
Selena Vega and her young daughter were among the tenants at the Motel 6 waiting to be relocated. She said they have been there for about a month, and that she needs a stable place to live so she can get her life back on track. The situation between the county and the hotel is a setback.
“I’m worried about making sure my kid is housed so she has a stable place to stay so I can find a job,” Vega said.
Includes reporting by Jeremy Moule, Brian Sharp, Gino Fanelli, and David Andreatta.