NY City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday declared a state of emergency in response to the city’s migrant influx.
From CNN:
“We now have a situation where more people are arriving in New York City than we can immediately accommodate, including families with babies and young children,” Adams said. “Once the asylum seekers from today’s buses are provided shelter, we would surpass the highest number of people in recorded history in our city’s shelter system.” The mayor is calling for federal and state aid.
From NY Daily News:
The emergency declaration will suspend certain land use requirements in order for the city to more rapidly construct tent camps to house migrants, such as the controversial facility set to be constructed on Randalls Island, Adams said in a speech from City Hall. But the declaration only goes so far, Adams said. With more than 17,000 South and Central American migrants currently in the city, the homeless shelter system is nearly at 100% capacity and social services are being strained to the brink of collapse, he said.
From CBS:
He said the city is on track to spend $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year to care for asylum seekers from Latin America who have been sent from Texas and Florida by the busloads. ... Adams said the city's right to shelter laws are being exploited for political gain. "New Yorkers are angry. I am angry, too. We have not asked for this. There was never any agreement to take on the job of supporting thousands of asylum seekers. This responsibility was simply handed to us without warning as buses began showing up," he said.
From The New York Times:
Mr. Adams has received criticism over his response to the crisis from homeless advocates and City Council members who disagree with efforts to house migrants in tents or on ships. They have called for empty hotels to be used and for shelter residents to be moved into permanent housing.
