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February 6, 2013

Sandy Victims Denounce Conditions in Temporary Housing 
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In New York City, people whose homes were ruined by Superstorm Sandy
gathered on the steps of City Hall to call for assistance and denounce
squalid living conditions in shelters and hotels where they have been
forced to live. Thousands of people still remain in temporary housing
more than three months after the storm. Isaiah Douglas Laws is one of
them. He described the difficulty of his family’s situation.

Isaiah Douglas Laws: "This is too much for us to handle emotionally and
physically. This is a scary situation. And if I could ask for one thing,
I just want to live in my home peacefully and go to sleep without
worrying about anything."

Aid groups joined with evacuated families at the event Tuesday to
outline a series of demands for assisting low-income people left
homeless by Sandy. Giselle Routhier is with Coalition for the Homeless.

Giselle Routhier: "There are a few things that the city could
immediately do. The first and foremost is to move families from unsafe
and unsanitary working conditions that we have seen at some of these
evacuee hotels. The second is to provide immediate need services like
food and transportation. And the last and most important is to work on a
long term housing solution."

 

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