New York City’s juvenile detention centers are so overcrowded that about 100 young people have been sleeping in classrooms and common areas, according to a government document and attorneys who represent the young people.

State law requires youth in secure detention facilities to have access to a "pleasant, comfortable and secure atmosphere” with their own room, bed and space to store their clothing. But state officials have given the city’s Administration for Children’s Services permission to skirt the law because the agency doesn’t have enough room to properly house the growing number of youth in detention, according to a government waiver Gothamist obtained.

Gothamist first reported in June 2023 that teens in detention were sleeping in classrooms . The city received permission tha

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