NYC Mayoral Candidate Wants to Bus Homeless to Hudson Valley

A candidate running for mayor of New York wants to start sending the city's homeless to the Hudson Valley.

Homelessness is a big problem in New York City and one republican mayoral candidate says that it can be solved by shipping the homeless up to the Hudson Valley to enjoy the "fresh air." The idea is to reopen Camp La Guardia, which closed in 2007.

Camp La Guardia was originally a women's prison named Greycourt. Located in Chester, the prison was transformed into a "work camp" for the homeless in the 1930s. Later renamed for Mayor La Guardia, the camp was supposed to serve as a place for the homeless to rehabilitate themselves while gaining employment in surrounding communities of the Hudson Valley.

As time went on, the population began to consist of mostly drug-addicted and mentally ill residents who needed more help than the camp was able to provide. As a result, surrounding towns began to complain about the effects on their neighborhoods. Camp La Guardia residents were involved in violent attacks on residents, drug deals in neighboring communities. and a rash of shoplifting incidents. Eventually, Mayor Bloomberg closed the shelter and sold the property to Orange County in 2007.

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NYC mayoral candidate, Curtis Sliwa, doesn't seem to remember how bad Camp La Guardia was. The New York Post reports that the Republican candidate is excited about the idea of reopening the program, sending the homeless out of the city and back to the Hudson Valley.

There is so much empty space up there... they can breathe fresh air, have good food, clothes, and it gives them a chance to get back on track.

Sliwa says that residents could learn a trade, be treated for alcohol addiction and escape the "temptations" of New York City.

It's unclear how the camp could even be reopened since it is now owned by Orange County. There have been plans to transform the property into a hotel and resort, but nothing has been finalized.

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The ten restaurants below all received four or more critical violations during their latest inspection of 2021. In some cases, the restaurants were given the opportunity to correct the violations by inspectors and have done so. Just because a restaurant is on this list doesn't mean that they are currently in violation of the health code. However, the Board of Health does think it's important to be armed with information on how seriously a restaurant takes kitchen cleanliness, food safety and other important rules that affect the food you feed your family.

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