With 'No Faith' In NYC, Judge Grants Rockland Injunction Over Migrants

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — A New York State Supreme Court Judge issued an injunction prohibiting New York City from housing asylum seekers temporary at the Armoni Inn or any location in Rockland.

The matter has been in court since May, when the county became embroiled in lawsuits with the city and the hotel over the city's"decompression" plan to temporarily house outside the city limits some of the thousands of asylum-seekers who have arrived in the past year.

Then, the county won a temporary restraining order.

This week, New York State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Zugibe issued a decision on several motions and petitions connected to the case.

"The best use of government resources here is not arguing in court, but rather, working together to fashion a plan to account for the safety and well-being of everyone involved. Sadly, that proved an impossible feat," he said.

Rockland County attorneys "have raised significant factual issues regarding NYC Respondents’ compliance with the very statutes and regulations NYC claims gives it the authority to take the complained-of actions," Zugibe said. "Frankly, NYC’s position raises far more questions than it actually answers."

He said the state regulations on which the city relied did not, in his opinion, expressly confer upon NYC the rights it claimed to possess.

"Taking NYC’s and Palisades Estates’ positions to their logical conclusions – any social services district could transfer untold numbers of people to any other social services district within the state at its sole discretion, without any planning or coordination between the municipalities concerned. To this end, NYC actually urges this Court to conclude that any municipality in which the recipient social services district is located has no standing to challenge a transfer allegedly effectuated in violation of the applicable law and regulations," Zugibe wrote. "This argument is more than staggering – it defies common sense and would lead to an absurd result."

Zugibe not only agreed with the county that there were basic issues with the Armoni Inn: a hotel, not equipped to house individuals for periods of months at a time; and safety issues inherent in its use as a shelter, for which it is not zoned. He also said the migrants were a possible danger because "The Armoni Inn is situated in a densely populated area near two colleges, a senior citizens residential facility and a high school."

Plus, he said that the hotel's lawyers' written and oral arguments were not only unpersuasive but "unresponsive, repetitive, and needlessly combative."

He did keep his temporary restraining order in place preventing the county from closing the hotel entirely.

Everyone is scheduled for another court hearing Jan. 4.

Until then, "Without a preliminary injunction of this nature in place, nothing prevents NYC Respondents from unilaterally selecting other locations within Rockland County to be used as shelters without first consulting with the appropriate local officials for purposes of planning and coordination," he said. "Further, without this preliminary injunction in place, the Court has little to no faith that NYC Respondents will communicate with Rockland County officials before dropping off potentially hundreds of individuals at any location NYC Respondents deem appropriate."

In response to the decision, County Executive Ed Day reiterated in a statement that the county has a crisis with low-income, overcrowded housing that a temporary influx of immigrants at a hotel would exacerbate.

"The City of New York’s attempts at unilateral action are disrespectful of the people and local governments in Rockland County," said Rockland County Attorney Thomas Humbach. "The City government can do what it likes within its own borders, but it must show some regard for the people, governments, and laws of this County if it wants to open operations here, whether it is a shelter or its new voucher plan."

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