Lawsuit Alleges Sweeps Violate Rights and Destroy Personal Property as City Escalates Crackdown
A group of six unhoused New Yorkers filed a lawsuit against the City of New York on Oct. 29, seeking to prevent city agencies from conducting homeless sweeps.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges the city consistently violates the constitutional rights of unhoused people by failing to notify them of impending sweeps. City workers also routinely destroy personal belongings like warm clothes, identification documents, medications, and bedding during the sweeps.
The lawsuit also asserts that city agencies routinely flout their own rules regarding how sweeps can be conducted. For instance, the city requires confiscated items to be stored for 90 days, and the owner must receive a voucher to claim the property. However, the lawsuit alleges the city rarely issues those vouchers, which results in people losing their personal property…