{"id":132785,"date":"2026-02-13T19:04:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T19:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/132785\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T19:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T19:04:28","slug":"as-queens-families-are-relocated-from-shelter-due-to-code-blue-cec-24-holds-emergency-meeting-to-pass-resolution-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/132785\/","title":{"rendered":"As Queens families are relocated from shelter due to Code Blue, CEC 24 holds emergency meeting to pass resolution \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"cec\t\t\t<\/p>\n

CEC 24 held an emergency meeting on Feb. 11 to pass a resolution in protest of DSS displacement of local PS 199Q students.<\/p>\n

Photo by Patrick Stachniak<\/p>\n

The staff of P.S. 199Q Maurice A. Fitzgerald in Sunnyside<\/a> and Community Education Council 24<\/a> (CEC 24) were shocked to learn that 37 students, members of 25 families living in City View Inn shelter, located at 33-15 Greenpoint Ave. in Long Island City<\/a>, were being moved out of their homes and to new locations around the city.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 11, CEC 24 held an emergency meeting to discuss the quick removal of the families and recommend to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Chancellor of New York City Public Schools Kamar H. Samuels and the Department of Homeless Services<\/a>, currently without a commissioner, to repeal the \u201c60 Day Rule\u201d and prioritize the families\u2019 return to the education district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole council should advocate for our community and our students:\u00a0no matter what the issue is,\u201d said CEC 24 President Mathew Crescio. \u201cIt\u2019s more severe as this.\u00a0We will advocate for our students until we correct it.\u201d<\/p>\n

DHS notified the families on Feb. 6 that they would need to be moved in just one week. While Council Member Julie Won was notified of the move, neither CEC 24 nor P.S. 199Q Principal Kujtim Daliposki were alerted. Instead, they were informed by word of mouth from the affected families while the transition was ongoing.<\/p>\n

\"\"The City View Inn in LIC, where the families resided. Courtesy of Google Street View<\/p>\n

The \u201c60 Day Rule,\u201d which CEC24 blamed for the sudden relocation of the two dozen families, comes from the Adams administration and requires that any family residing in a shelter must reapply after 60 days if no other housing options exist. The rule would require families to relocate at least four times throughout the school year, disrupting the students\u2019 education and overall stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight, the Community Education Council for District 24 (CEC 24), in partnership with CEC 30, unanimously passed a Resolution in support of the PS 199Q community opposing harmful shelter transfers for families of New York City Public School students,\u201d said Won. \u201cParents have spoken loud and clear. The Department of Social Services must reform its policies and prioritize students who learn best in stable environments where they can establish deep connections with their schools and neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Won held several protests in the streets against the decision and the Adams administration\u2019s rule. DHS Commissioner Moly Wasow Park, appointed by former Mayor Eric Adams, resigned earlier this week, though not because of the 18 deaths that came amid New York\u2019s worst winter in decades or the shelter population changes. Park stated it was due to uncertainty around her position with DHS, and that the agency deserved a \u201cpermanent\u201d leader, though Won was critical of her choice to resign during the Code Blue and displacement of families in her district.<\/p>\n

A DHS spokesperson stated that the department had never instituted the 60 Day Rule, that DHS-run shelters have no time limit and still prioritize keeping families within the same borough to avoid disruption in their lives. It was the emergency Code Blue issued by Mamdani in January that required a shift in the approximately 85,000 individuals within DHS shelters.<\/p>\n

The Code Blue even required DHS to open other temporary shelters, sometimes within just a single day, to aid those on the streets from freezing in the sub-zero temperatures. The families residing in City View Inn were relocated to make room for single, adult males.<\/p>\n

According to the DHS, the 25 families were given a choice of their preferred borough with a second as a backup option, and the agency\u2019s priority is to keep families in the same borough as the youngest child\u2019s school. As per the McKinney-Vento Act<\/a>, elementary and middle school students in temporary housing are entitled to placement at their zoned school. DHS stated that students are entitled to \u201ccontinue attending their school\u201d and that \u201cappropriate transportation arrangements will be made.\u201d Families will receive OMNY cards to pay for travel expenses, though CEC24 plans to amend its initial resolution to advise DHS to include school bus transportation for the families.<\/p>\n

\u201cDHS is responsible for providing temporary housing to every New Yorker who comes to us in need, and in order to comply with this legal and moral obligation, we must ensure that adequate shelter capacity is available to meet demand. During this recent stretch of dangerously cold weather, we used every resource at our disposal to do so. This included rapidly opening new low-barrier shelters and reconfiguring existing DHS capacity,\u201d said a DHS spokesperson. \u201cThroughout this process, case managers worked closely with each household to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of services while prioritizing academic stability for all school-aged children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the DHS provides an array of services to help families through the transition period, CEC24 noted in the resolution that they still have an impact on children\u2019s overall education and graduation rates.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany students residing in shelters\u00a0have already experienced significant disruptions to their education, compounded by the trauma experienced\u00a0as a result of displacement, migration,\u00a0and ongoing instability,\u201d the resolution states.<\/p>\n

\"\"A CEC 30 board member speaks in support of the families and the resolution. Photo by Patrick Stachniak<\/p>\n

According to CEC24, only 56% of students who experienced homelessness during high school graduated within four years. But for those students who did not transfer mid-year and were able to attend regularly, that rate rose to around 90% and fell closer in line with the citywide rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made important considerations for each family\u2019s unique needs, and we will continue to work with them to make sure they are connected to all available resources and supports, including transportation to their current school or new school,\u201d said the DHS spokesperson.<\/p>\n

A New York City Public Schools representative deferred to DHS and City Hall for comment. Mamdani\u2019s team has not yet responded, though they stated a new DHS commissioner will be selected within the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CEC 24 held an emergency meeting on Feb. 11 to pass a resolution in protest of DSS displacement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[56770,56771,21490,25869,310,9467,10597,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-132785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-60-day-rule","tag-cec-24","tag-code-blue","tag-community-education-council-24","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-department-of-homeless-services","tag-meeting","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}