State Senator George Borrello speaks at a roundtable regarding the housing of the unhoused in hotels and motels
State Senator George Borrello has suggested using underutilized or vacant jails to house the homeless, following a similar model being done in Albany County.
Borrello made the suggestion at a roundtable he and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor hosted with local officials, law enforcement leaders and school administrators to examine rising homelessness and the impacts emergency housing placements in area hotels are having on communities across Chautauqua County.
According to the New York State Comptroller, homelessness across New York more than doubled between January 2022 and January 2024. Upstate cities have experienced significant increases, including Buffalo (81 percent), Syracuse (67 percent), Rochester (41 percent) and Albany (38 percent). In Chautauqua County, homelessness increased by 103 percent between 2022 and 2024, including a 150 percent increase in homeless families and a 141 percent rise in children without stable housing.
As shelter capacity has been strained, counties across upstate New York have increasingly relied on hotels and motels for emergency placements. While these placements provide temporary housing, participants in the roundtable noted that hotels are not designed to function as shelters and typically do not provide the supportive services needed to help individuals and families transition into stable housing.
Local officials also discussed the downstream impacts these placements can have on surrounding communities, including increased calls for police and emergency services and concerns raised by school districts located near hotels used for emergency housing.
In the Village of Falconer, for example, school officials and local leaders have raised concerns about incidents connected to individuals staying at a nearby hotel used for emergency placements, including individuals entering school property and safety concerns raised by parents and school officials.
Borrello said as the number of unhoused grows, the model has become unsustainable.
Participants also discussed potential alternatives to the current reliance on hotels, including models that combine housing with structured support services.
One example highlighted was Albany County’s Sheriff’s Homeless Improvement Project (SHIP), which provides transitional housing and services within unused space at the county jail. Since launching in 2019, the program has served 497 individuals and expanded to include housing for women and children.
Borrello noted that Western New York already has several vacant or partially vacant correctional facilities that could potentially be part of similar solutions. He said unlike roadside hotels, these facilities already include infrastructure such as commercial kitchens, meeting and classroom space, and areas for counseling and workforce training, allowing services to be delivered on-site rather than simply providing a temporary room.
Molitor said, “We all share the goal of helping people move out of homelessness and into stable housing. But the current system places too much responsibility on counties and local communities while the problem continues to grow. As homelessness rises across the state, Albany must play a stronger role in developing solutions that help people transition to permanent housing and give communities the support they need.”
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