The Legal Aid Society commended a newly-announced agreement reached between city officials and the Hotel Association of New York City to extend an existing contract that uses hotels to house homeless New Yorkers to shelter them during the COVID-19, as reported by Gothamist.

Attorneys at the Legal Aid Society welcomed the development as the most sensible course of action, for both vulnerable, homeless New Yorkers – who could face dangerous circumstances either on the street on in shelters – and the hotels, which have suffered close to zero business in the wake of a tourism industry put to sleep by the pandemic.

“The city’s use of hotels has saved people’s lives,” said Josh Goldfein, a staff attorney with the Homeless Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society.