PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Mount Lacey, Disabled Veteran
3:14:50
·
126 sec
Mount Lacey, a disabled veteran, provided passionate testimony criticizing the NYC shelter system and the city's handling of homelessness. He shared personal experiences of mistreatment in veterans' shelters and accused the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) of retaliating against him for collecting evidence of misconduct.
- Lacey claimed he was attacked in a veteran shelter but was wrongly charged, with staff refusing to show security footage to police.
- He alleged that DHS has transferred him to poor-quality shelters in retaliation for his possession of evidence of misconduct.
- Lacey criticized the $4 billion budget for homelessness, arguing that with 56,000 homeless individuals, the city is spending $70,000 per person without effectively addressing the problem.
Mount Lacey
3:14:50
Hi.
3:14:50
My name is Mount Lacy.
3:14:52
I'm a disabled veteran.
3:14:54
I was in Borden Avenue.
3:14:56
I'd like to just tell a little story that'll hit on a few key points that, you guys have gone back and forth over, which I would say is akin to lying children, to absentee parents.
3:15:13
This meeting has been absolutely nauseating.
3:15:16
I was attacked in the veteran shelter in the restroom.
3:15:19
I was the one given charges.
3:15:22
It was as simple as showing the security video to the police officers, which they refused to do that.
3:15:28
Now because of the evidence that I did collect while I was there, because I don't care about your, no recording policy, As I do respect the HIPAA rights, I do not condone the negligence and abuse of the shelter workers, which is our only recourse is to record it.
3:15:45
Because of the evidence that I did collect, DHS has systematically kept me from the proper shelter and transferred me to the worst shelters in the system, Blake being one of them, Jerome being another, Myrtle Avenue being another, and done so because they know I have the proof on this camera.
3:16:07
And I wonder when is there gonna be a meeting where I will be or who will be interested in seeing it.
3:16:16
With a $4,000,000,000 budget and 56,000 homeless, right, that's that that's $70,000 per resident.
3:16:24
You're you you are spending on each homeless one.
3:16:27
You guys do not wanna fix the problem.
3:16:30
There's too much money coming in for it.
3:16:33
You guys wanna just keep rallying around these nebulous problems instead of actually getting to the issues, and it's sickening.
3:16:42
Thank you, Julie Yuan, for the tough questions you asked, and thank you, Christopher Banks, for, inviting them to eat that food.
3:16:50
You guys should go to the shelter at least once a month and eat a meal.
3:16:54
Get your heads out of the ground.
