Adams defends NYPD's use of stun-gun on ‘disorderly’ Queens migrant holding toddler: Video
QUEENS - New York City Mayor Eric Adams is defending the actions of the NYPD officers who responded Friday night to a migrant shelter in Queens.
According to police, the officers were called to the Jamaica shelter for an argument involving an intoxicated man, identified as 47-year-old Venezuelan migrant Yanny Cordero, who was threatening staff members.
Video obtained by The New York Times showed an officer using a stun gun to subdue Cordero as he held his 1-year-old son. While the video is disturbing, Adams described the officers’ actions as "appropriate."
NYPD officers responded Friday night to the migrant shelter in Jamaica, Queens.
"This person was under the influence of alcohol, holding the child," Adams said. "Those officers had to get that child from him so that child was not going to be endangered."
Cordero insisted in an interview with The New York Times that he was not drunk and that a language barrier led to a shelter worker hitting him. He said he did not retaliate.
Cordero faces multiple charges, as does his wife, who police said interfered with his arrest.
To date, about 182,000 migrants have arrived in the Big Apple since the spring of 2022, the mayor’s office says. Around 65,000 are still in the city’s care.
Meanwhile, the per diem rate for a single migrant household is $5 more than previously cited in 2023.
It now costs $388 per day for New York City to house and care for a single migrant household, according to Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park in a City Council hearing Monday. This includes shelter and food.
The price is up from the amount Adams previously cited in August, but down from a peak per diem rate of $394.00 in October, according to Adams's spokesperson Charles Lutvak.
In August, as the city neared the arrival of 100,000 asylum seekers, Adams warned of the costs if state and federal governments did not take swift action.
At that point, the city predicted that the crisis would cost more than $12 billion through July 2025, without state and federal support.
Source: nyc.gov
Around $156 million has been allocated by the federal government for the ongoing migrant crisis, but the city says it's only received roughly a third of these funds ($49 million).
The city's budget director Jacques Jiha, cited the overly burdensome application requirements needed to receive the aid.
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City officials said that if the pilot program is a success, they would consider expanding the program to all migrant families staying in hotels.
Last month, Adams said the city budget was stabilizing, after threats of a third round of budget cuts due to the ongoing migrant crisis.
In the first two rounds, city agencies like the NYPD, Department of Education and Sanitation departments were left to compensate for nearly $4 billion in cuts.
Instead, The mayor said the city would cut funding for migrants even further.
Adams said the administration would slash an additional 10% in migrant spending (for a total of 30%) after the 20% reduction announced in the preliminary budget.
Source: nyc.gov
It was previously thought that the city's migrant crisis could cost taxpayers $12 billion by July 1, 2025. In August, Mayor Adams said the city would end up spending more on migrants than it does on the Fire, Parks, and Sanitation Departments combined.