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Lawmakers Want State To Step-In, Streamline City Housing Assistance Programs

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration said it would like to stop using hotels and expensive cluster apartments for homeless families, but the demand is too high.

As 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon explained, a report by the members of the State Senate Independent Democratic Conference documented violations, filth, and hazards in those temporary shelters.

"We've allowed the city for too long to mismanage this, and it's time for the state to step in," State Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) said.

Savino and Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) said the plan would use $480-million from the state and match it with federal money.

"You know something if we implement a program like this and stop wasting money on hotels and motels and stop wasting money on these unsafe cluster sites, and actually consolidate all these different voucher programs that are out there we could actually ultimately save billions of dollars," Klein said.

It would boost and streamline housing assistance programs in an effort to prevent evictions.

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