About two dozen homeless military veterans have been ejected from New York hotels to make place for newly arrived migrants.
The Yerik Israel Toney Foundation (YIT) was established by disabled military veteran Sharon Toney-Finch, with the aim of aiding homeless and low-income veterans who need support with daily living.
However, hotels informed the veterans last week that their temporary housing would no longer be accessible and that they would need to find another place to live.
According to Toney-Finch, the situation with the immigrants has led to the veterans being relocated to a different hotel.
“He told me he had to leave because the hotel said the extended stay is not available. Then I got another call. We didn’t waste any time,” Toney-Finch told the New York Post. “That’s when we started on Monday to organize when and where to move them all. I am glad you called me today. “Last night, I was crying.”
Toney-Finch added that 15 veterans were removed from the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, which is located in Orange County, roughly 60 miles north of New York City. Due to Mayor Eric Adams’ bussing scheme, the county has recently been a popular destination for migrants arriving in New York.
Five more veterans were kicked out from two more hotels. The Super 8 and Hampton Inn & Suites in Middletown are apparently on the city’s short list to host immigrants but have not yet done so.
Toney-Finch stated that the plan was to give the veterans temporary accommodation in the hotels for up to four weeks while searching for a long-term solution.
However, the veterans were abruptly ejected from the facility after about two weeks and they have to start over again.
Toney-Finch claims that the issue comes down to money because the hotels want to be paid more. She also noted that the city will pay more per migrant than what her organization does.
She believes it is unfair because they are only a small nonprofit paying $88 a day for a veteran to have a shelter.
Since January 2021, the city of New York has welcomed almost 60,000 migrants.
