NYC migrant crisis could cost taxpayers $12B: Mayor
NEW YORK - New York City’s migrant crisis is now expected to cost taxpayers $12 billion by July 1, 2025.
This new cost comes as nearly 100,000 migrants have arrived in the city since last spring, with more than 57,000 currently in the city’s care. More than 2,900 migrants arrived in the city just last week.
"If we don’t get the support we need, New Yorkers could be left with a $12-billion bill," Mayor Eric Adams warned.
Mayor Adams says the city will spend more on migrants than it does on the Fire, Parks, and Sanitation Departments combined.
With the city’s shelter system at capacity, some migrants had to camp outside the Roosevelt Hotel last week waiting to be placed in housing.
"They come to work, to contribute to our city and our nation's success," Adams said. "But the scenes outside the Roosevelt may sadly become more common if we don't get the support we need."
Adams says the city could face even more cuts to city services, without more state and federal aid. The city is also looking to cut services to migrants as well.
"It can be something as simple as the meal, if we can save you know $1 or $2 on the meal," Adams said. "We can save on the laundry because you know the sheets have to be cleaned."
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The federal government has set aside more than $130-million to aid the city in the migrant crisis. However, the city’s budget director says they have yet to receive a single dollar from this lump sum.
A team from the Department of Homeland Security was sent to New York City to assess the crisis. But Adams again renewed his call for the White House to declare a state of emergency in order to free up more federal dollars.
"There's more they can do, including expediting pathways to work authorizations for asylum seekers," Adams said. "There's nothing more anti-American than not letting people work."
Adams is also calling on state leaders to do more to help in the migrant crisis but has refrained from calling out Governor Kathy Hochul by name.
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A state Supreme Court judge on Friday said that the state is not doing enough to support the city and had city officials submit a request on what exactly they need in terms of resources by Wednesday. The state has until August 15 to respond.
City Hall wouldn’t say what they are requesting, but Adams says he would like to see a decompression strategy throughout the state, with more upstate counties pitching in.
"We need a statewide decompression strategy to help free up space in our shelter system and reduce the pressure on our city's resources," Adams said.
The state legislature set aside $1 billion for this migrant crisis, however city hall says they have only received $250 million of this money.
Governor Hochul on Wednesday told reporters that the city is supposed to be sending in receipts so it can be reimbursed for this migrant crisis. But a city hall spokesperson says that they are trying to work it out with the state to see if they can receive this amount in one lump sum, rather than spread out throughout the fiscal year.