With New York City’s homeless population continuing to grow, Mayor Bill de Blasio recently launched a controversial program to send individuals and families without homes to other cities across the nation.

So far, 43 households have been relocated to North Carolina, including 6 to Charlotte, 5 to Raleigh, and 6 to Fayetteville, without any consent or knowledge of the receiving city, according to a report by the New York Post.

The program pays for 12 months of rent for individuals and families sent outside of New York, but if they are not able to find suitable income in that time, they will likely end up back on the streets, only in a different city.

WTVD interviewed Fayetteville’s mayor about the individuals NYC was sending to his city and he said the long term impact of busing people there could put a strain on local resources.

“We’re struggling now to keep up with our own homeless population and putting the amenities and resources in place to deal with that and we certainly can’t take anyone else’s issues,” said Fayetteville’s Mayor Mitch Colvin, adding that, “I think it’s a big ask to ask these tax payers to use their tax dollars to take care of other people’s homeless population.”

According to NYC’s website, the following homeless are eligible for the Special One-Time Assistance (SOTA) program:

• Families with children: The household must have been in shelter for at least 90 days.
• Single adults and adult families: The household must have been in shelter for 90 days out of the last 365 days.
• The household must be working and/or have enough income to make future rent payments based on their rent not exceeding 50% of household income. Income includes employment or SSI, SSD, etc.

This map shows where all of the SOTA recipients have been sent to so far:

Mayor Colvin said the city’s attorneys are investigating remedies they might have and if the busing continues they might pursue legal action against New York City.

What do you think about the program? 

Do you think Charlotte leaders should do anything about the program?

ApartmentList.com just released their November 2019 rental report, showing rents in Charlotte increasing at one of the fastest rates in the nation.

Currently, median rents in Charlotte stand at $989 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,153 for a two-bedroom. This is the eleventh straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in November of last year. Charlotte’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 2.7%, as well as the national average of 1.4%.

In spite of Charlotte’s higher-than-average rental growth rate, the Queen City is still more affordable than most comparable cities across the country.

• Charlotte’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,153 is slightly below the national average of $1,191. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.4% over the past year compared to the 2.9% increase in Charlotte.
• While Charlotte’s rents rose moderately over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+4.0%), Dallas (+2.3%), and Atlanta (+1.8%).
• Renters will find more reasonable prices in Charlotte than most similar cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,123, which is more than two-and-a-half times the price in Charlotte.

What do you think about rental prices in Charlotte? 

With Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday swiftly approaching, ‘tis the season for giving back and Americans certainly do. In 2018 alone, individuals in America gave over $292 billion to charity and contributed 6.9 billion volunteer hours. While the U.S. consistently ranks among the most generous countries worldwide, some parts of the country tend to be more charitable than others.

In a new study, SmartAsset analyzed data on metrics related to charitable donations and volunteerism to uncover the places where Americans give the most time and money to charity. They found that the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area cracks the top of the list.

Way to go Charlotte! 

Over the past few years, Charotte’s cankerworm infestation has continued to rise. Local entomologists think this may due to a decrease in migratory birds, and lower ground beetles numbers from over-manicured lawns.

The city of Charlotte just released the following press release, urging residents to band their own trees this spring:

How to Band a Tree

Step 1: Install a two-inch strip of cotton or insulation around the tree at least three feet from the ground and the lowest limb.
Step 2: Position a band of roofing felt over the strip and attach it to the trees with the staple gun.  Avoid using staples on small, young or thin barked trees. Instead use electrical tape to hold the bands.
Step 3: Using disposable gloves and a putty knife, put a film of Tanglefoot™(glue) directly on the band, approximately 1/8″ thick.
In order to be effective, all trees need to be banded. The worms feed on all types of trees. Large trees (taller than a two-story house) are the main focus of banding. Small trees can also be banded.”

Click here for tree band supplies – if we join together, we can save our beautiful canopy!