Putnam Legislature Supports Prohibiting Temporary Shelters

The Putnam County Legislature last week overwhelmingly supported expanding a current homeless shelters law that would prohibit the temporary housing of asylum seekers.

The 7-1 vote on July 5 expectedly followed a June 21 thumbs up from the Legislature’s Rules, Enactments and Intergovernmental Relations Committee that backed the proposal made by County Executive Kevin Byrne.

On May 22, Byrne issued State of Emergency Declaration and Corresponding Executive Orders in response to New York City’s efforts to relocate asylum seekers to Hudson Valley counties without proper coordination with local municipalities.

The executive orders attached to Byrne’s emergency declaration gave Putnam the flexibility to re-direct county resources to enforce sanitary code, as well as directs hotels, motels and those with temporary residency permits not to accept migrants and asylum seekers from New York City, essentially transforming them into homeless shelters absent a shared services agreement with Putnam County.

“This Legislature has an obligation to protect the health and welfare of its residents,” Legislature Chairman Paul Jonke remarked. “This is protecting the resources here in Putnam County.”

“Our utmost focus should be protecting our county,” Legislator Amy Sayegh said. “We can’t strain our limited resources. We must be prepared to handle a possible crisis.”

Legislator Nancy Montgomery, the lone Democrat on the board who cast the only dissenting vote, called the amendment “a bad law that’s not well thought out.”

“It’s all for naught because nobody is asking us to house anyone,” she remarked. “There are resources made available for this crisis.”

Putnam County Democratic Committee Chairperson Jennifer Colamonico took aim at the GOP legislators who supported the amendment.

“One party rule in Putnam is not only a risk to democracy and good government, but it is now actually cannibalizing the freedom of our town governments and small businesses to make their own decisions,” she stated. “In a veil of anti-immigrant hate, the County Executive’s legislation, rubber stamped by 8/9 legislators, seeks to usurp the power of duly elected municipalities, undermining local zoning ordinances to impose the political agenda of an uncontested executive with aspirations to climb the MAGA ladder by demonizing legal immigrants and asylum seekers.”

Amy Belsher, Director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation for the New York Civil Liberties Union, submitted an email to Byrne, contending barring migrants and asylum seekers from the county are “discriminatory and likely violated the Constitution and federal civil rights statutes.”

“Immigrants make up nearly a quarter of our state’s population and contribute to our communities in significant, and often unappreciated, ways. Your county’s executive order demeans and dehumanizes foreign-born New Yorkers, invoking a false emergency as pretext to exclude people on the basis of their national origin and immigration status,” Belsher wrote.

Byrne responded to Belsher, stating he “wholeheartedly” disagreed with her assessment of Putnam’s actions.

“It appears in your zeal to address the alleged improprieties of what appears to be an inordinate number of executive orders by dozens of different municipalities throughout the state, you applied a mistaken analysis to Putnam County’s executive orders and proposed legislation,” Byrne wrote. “Neither action or proposal bar anyone from coming to or residing in our county. Rather, they simply insist that when outside municipalities wish to offer homeless housing by utilizing temporary rentals in Putnam County, that they do so responsibly by first entering into a proper shared services agreement with Putnam County. This is in the best interests of not only both municipalities, but more importantly, in the interests of the people who come here in search of a better life.”

Meanwhile, the Legislature also supported another executive order from Byrne that further defines Putnam not a “sanctuary county,” but declares itself a “rule of law” county. Municipalities with a “sanctuary” designation, such as neighboring Westchester, have taken on the role and responsibility of housing asylum seekers.

“I’m pro-immigration. I’m the son of an immigrant,” Jonke said. “I support the rule of law. I support the Constitution and I support our county executive.”

Montgomery once again was the lone legislator in opposition, saying, “This crisis is larger than us. Don’t divide us further by this legislation. Dare to be human.”

Rick Pezzullo

Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/