MOVING ON UP
Ex-Rudy aide goes from life in shelter to hi-rise digs after News tells of his struggles
Sherman Jackson has reason to smile as former aide to city honchos gets a new apartment, ending a year of living in homeless shelters.
For nearly a year, a one-time press secretary to top city officials found himself living in city homeless shelters.
On Wednesday, Sherman Jackson was homeless no more.
By mid-day, he'd moved into a studio apartment in a doorman building in downtown Brooklyn, located only blocks from where he once served as chief spokesman to the city's schools chancellor.
“I'm going to sleep on the floor tonight rather than spend one more night in that shelter,” he said, standing in the new apartment with several unpacked boxes of his belongings, two chairs, a coffee table and a bureau — but no bed.
In response to a Daily News story published in May, the city found the apartment for Jackson, who will pay one-third of his income from Social Security. The remainder will be picked up by a federal Section 8 housing subsidy.
The News revealed Sherman's sad downfall from his days serving as a press spokesman for several top city officials during the administration of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The hard times began after he took a buyout offer from a landlord and tried living with his children, an arrangement that didn't work out. Because of a chronic stomach illness, he couldn't find work.
On Aug. 8, 2017, he checked into the 30th Street men's shelter in Manhattan.
From there, the slight 70year-old was shuttled to another shelter in Brooklyn, threatened repeatedly by other shelter clients, had his wallet stolen and descended into a deep depression as he struggled to get back on his feet.
After The News detailed his downfall, several influential New Yorkers who knew Jackson during the days when he was at the top of his game stepped up to help out. Topping the list was veteran attorney Norman Siegel, the former head of the New York City Civil Liberties Union.
Siegel knew Jackson from his days as spokesman for the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Before that, Jackson had been press secretary to schools Chancellor Tony Alvarado in 1983 and '84; to city controller candidate Herman Badillo, in 1993; and for the city Off-Track Betting Corp. in 1995.
At the time of The News' report, Jackson had been staying for months in a shelter near the BQE off Tillary St. in Brooklyn. For years, he'd lived in a comfortable Upper West Side apartment; now, he found himself living in a dormitory with dozens of homeless men.
Threats were a daily event; physical altercations were commonplace. The shelter's nonprofit operator placed clients in wheelchairs in second-floor rooms, knowing that the building's elevator constantly broke down, and Jackson felt the shelter was a disaster waiting to happen.
“It's going to be staying with me for a while,” he said. “I never in my life imagined going through such an experience.”
The apartment is in a doorman building with a rec room and a garden, and his studio has a big window that lets in lots of light, a kitchen with a gas stove, fridge and dishwasher, three closets and — most important — privacy.
“I still have to adjust mentally to this: The fact that I don't have to sign for my bed tonight, that I don't have to be there for bed check, that I don't have to get into arguments every night,” he said.
He hopes never to return to a shelter. He's begun doing volunteer work for Borough President Eric Adams, scanning news outlets in search of stories on the topics that are important to Adams.
“I deeply appreciate the Daily News for shining a light on Sherman's story,” Adams said Wednesday. “When I read it, I knew I had to connect with him. Sherman has so much left to contribute to our city, and I'm proud he will be a member of my team at Brooklyn Borough Hall.”
Siegel, who spent many hours of his own time helping Jackson get to this place, said there is a lesson to be learned here about how difficult it is to get out of that system, once you're in it:
“The question in my mind is: How many other Sherman Jacksons are in the city homeless shelter system who, with a bit of advocacy, could go from being homeless to non-homeless?” Siegel said.