A nonprofit group that advocates for homeless veterans reported that almost two dozen former military members have been booted out of upstate New York hotels.
Taking their place in the lodging are illegal migrants bussed north from New York City.
Sharon Toney-Finch, CEO of the Yerik Israel Toney (YIT) Foundation, told the New York Post that “our veterans have been placed in another hotel due to what’s going on with the immigrants.”
The ex-military personnel were informed by hotels at the beginning of the week that they must vacate the establishments. They were given a limited amount of time to find living arrangements elsewhere, according to a shocked local politician.
Toney-Finch, who founded YIT to support homeless and low-income vets, said one of them called her on Sunday. He related that he’d been told to vacate because extended stay was no longer available.
One of the veterans told to hit the road was a “24-year-old man in desperate need of help after serving in Afghanistan.”
🚨 NEW: Homeless veterans are being booted from NY hotel rooms in order to make room for migrants, according to advocates (New York Post) pic.twitter.com/021lY8Vf8X
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 13, 2023
Toney-Finch said she got on the phone immediately to find accommodations for the homeless veterans being displaced. She reported that 15 of the former military members were expelled from the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh.
That is roughly 60 miles north of New York City, the so-called “sanctuary” city where Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is now shipping his problems northward.
There were five other veterans forced to move from the Super 8 and Hampton Inn & Suites, according to the advocate. She said they were successfully relocated at a hotel in Hudson Valley about 20 miles away from Newburgh.
The 20 veterans were originally expected to stay at the three hotels for up to four weeks while permanent accommodations were located. They had been there for about two weeks when they were kicked out, and Toney-Finch said they now understandably do not trust the system.
Many of those displaced are Vietnam veterans.
Republican State Assemblyman Brian Maher of Orange County said that highlighting the plight of these vets is important. He said it is necessary “to make sure these hotels know how important it is to respect the service of our veterans before they kick [them] out of hotels to make room.”
He added, “we need to put them first.”
