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The order, renewed for the 13th time on Thursday since Supervisor Yvette Aguiar first initiated it on May 16, now mandates that transient lodging facilities refuse "any persons for long-term/non-transient housing inconsistent with approved or permitted uses and/or approved site plans within the Town of Riverhead." Previously, the order's language explicitly prevented these facilities from housing "migrants and/or asylum seekers."
Town Attorney Erik Howard revealed that this modification was suggested by the town's external counsel, who engaged in defending the order legally. Howard elaborated, "And we felt that specifically identifying migrants was not necessarily capturing what we wanted in order to capture, which is basically like, don't accept anyone at all for long term, non-transient lodging in hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, inns, lodges, all of that."
In the town, any housing that extends beyond 30 days is classified as long-term and necessitates a town rental permit. With several motels and hotels collaborating with the Suffolk County Department of Social Services to provide temporary shelter for the homeless, it becomes an issue if a person stays beyond the 30-day limit, violating the town code.
Howard explained that the town is working to prevent hotels and motels from changing their modus operandi by agreeing to house individuals for more than 29 days, an action New York City was reportedly considering. The objective of amending and replacing previous emergency orders was to standardize the language across all orders.
In response to the allegations by New York City, which has sued Riverhead Town and 30 other counties for blocking it from providing temporary housing for asylum-seekers, Howard stated that the town's emergency order is within the boundaries of the law and focuses on enforcing building and town codes.
Following the legal backlash, Riverhead Town has partnered with the Lynne, Gartner, Dunne & Frigenti law firm as special counsel in the lawsuit against New York City. The town has already put forth an opposition statement to the city's motion, criticizing the city's policy of accepting migrants and highlighting the inability of the town to cater to the needs of migrants. The town maintains that New York City does not have standing in the case as the town's emergency order has not directly impacted it. The city is also accused of not having the authority or necessity to place migrants in Riverhead. As per Howard, the external counsel is preparing a motion to dismiss the city's case.