With New York City struggling to cope with the continued influx of migrants seeking asylum, Mayor Eric Adams on Friday announced a new strategy: The city will begin paying for shelters. hidden in two suburban locations outside the five counties.
It took less than a day for the plan to succeed. Officials in either county vehemently rejected the city’s relocation attempt and declared a state of emergency to halt the attempt.
The escalation marks one of the first challenges to Mayor Adams’ so-called stress relief strategy to ease the housing burden on the city’s growing number of asylum seekers, in a time when thousands more are expected to soon seek refuge in New York during the pandemic. border policy is set to expire.
The city plans to house about 300 men in two hotels in Rockland and Orange County, north of New York City, providing accommodation, food and medical services for four months.
Although Mr. Adams said he consulted with state and local officials, at least two said they were caught off guard and vowed to fight the plan.
Teresa Kenny, town supervisor for Orangetown, said: “It looks like they’re trying to lower prices on Friday night. She said she learned of the plan just hours before Mayor Adams announced the move. “I feel like the mayor called me to check a box so he can’t be criticized for not talking to us.”
Rockland County Chief Executive Ed Day said he was taken aback by Mr. Adams’ plan and acted quickly to find a way to stop it. He declared a state of emergency on Saturday, declaring that no city could transport or deliver migrants in Rockland without his permission.
“Whatever we need to do to stop this, we’ll do it,” said Day, a Republican, in a phone interview on Sunday, adding that the county is willing to issue fines of up to $2,000 for each violation per day. to any hotel that accepts asylum seekers from the program. “They’re essentially pouring them into a county that we’re not prepared for,” he said.
It is unclear whether declaring a state of emergency will prevent New York City officials from arranging for the movement of migrants. New York City issued its own state of emergency in October, in an effort to mobilize federal resources to help its growing migrant population.
Stephen Acquario, executive director of the Association of New York State Counties, said Rockland was the first county in the state, outside of New York City, to issue such an order to address the migrant crisis.
“We need leadership here, because this is a strange, uncharted sea,” he said, noting that efforts to prevent the transfer of migrants to Rockland will likely have to be decided. determined in court. The county also has a law that prohibits guests from staying at the hotel for more than 30 days at a time, which can present another challenge.
Acquario, who has spoken with representatives from several state counties outside of the city since the plan was announced, said he sympathizes with New York City’s position, but that the issue needs to be addressed. more cooperation between levels of government.
“This is a homelessness problem, and it is largely the fault of the federal government,” he said. “And here we have the lowest level of government that’s been cleaning up America’s mess.”
The change in New York City’s strategy comes after Mr. Adams said in a statement Friday that the “leadership vacuum” at the federal level required a “pressure relief strategy.” new, to share the burden of housing the growing number of asylum seekers. throughout the cities. More than 60,800 migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring, according to city officials.
A city spokesman said those sent to Rockland and Orange County will be volunteers drawn from a group of single adult men in the care of the city.
Calls to the hotel in Rockland County, the 170-room Armoni Inn and Suites in Orangetown, went unanswered. Orangetown town supervisor Kenny said piles of cushions were piled up outside the hotel on Friday afternoon, even though a wedding reception was held at the building over the weekend.
An Orange County official identified the hotel as the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh; A receptionist there declined to comment.
“This happens out of the left field,” said Steve Neuhaus, chief executive of Orange County, adding that Mayor Adams had told him the Newburgh hotel would take in about 60 migrants.
Mr. Neuhaus, a Republican, also questioned how the county would handle new arrivals at the Newburgh hotel, located on a commercial strip next to an ice rink, gym and not much else .
“We have been providing maximum support to the homeless in the county,” he said, adding that he was also considering declaring a state of emergency to prevent movement.
