The economic damage from the migrant crisis continues.
New York City data shows the city has spent more than $5 billion on immigrant services, including nearly $2 billion just on housing for the hordes of newcomers flocking to the city.
The startling figures, published in the city’s online report, are: Asylum Seeker Funds Tracking SystemAccording to the report, the city has spent a total of $4.88 billion combined for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. Based on spending rates, the city has either spent more than $112 million since the start of the new fiscal year, which began July 1, or is likely to soon surpass the $5 billion mark.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration even projects costs could double over the three years ending June 30, 2025, to $10 billion.
Funds spent to date include:
- $1.98 billion for housing costs and rent.
- About $2 billion for services and supplies.
- About $500 million for food and medical expenses.
- Another $500 million for IT, administrative and other costs.
The NYPD has spent $21 million on public safety and policing amid unrest in and around city-funded migrant shelters, a crisis that has cost the department nearly its entire $5.75 billion budget.
The city’s Homeless Services Department announced this week that it had awarded two more contracts totaling $40 million to contractors to provide services to migrants in hotels converted into emergency shelters.
Even hotels in the heart of the Broadway tourist district are being converted into emergency shelters under a New York City contract with the Hotel Association.
Housing Works was awarded a $13.4 million contract to help immigrants at the City View Inn, located at 3317 Greenpoint Avenue on Long Island.
An official who answered the phone Tuesday said City View has been a shelter for “almost two years” but is not yet accepting reservations for overnight stays.
The city pays for all the rooms.
The second, $26.3 million contract, was awarded to Washington, D.C.-based Project Redirect to assist immigrants at the Spring Hills Suites by Marriott at 140-35 Queens Boulevard.
“The hotel is not functional at present,” the employee said.
The city currently provides shelter to more than 63,900 migrants through 210 locations in its shelter system.
Asked about hotels still functioning as emergency shelters two years after the crisis began, Governor Adams’ chief of staff, Camille Joseph Burlack, said, “This is not a New York City issue, this is not a US issue, this is a global issue.”
“We’ve had the opportunity to speak to other cities that are expecting and experiencing migration, and we expect it to continue because of war, because of climate change and all sorts of other issues,” Burlack told reporters Tuesday about the crisis.
Verlach said city officials are working to help move the migrants from the hotel to other locations.
There has been a public backlash against shelters in many places across the city, including hotels and other shelters and campsites at Floyd Bennett Field, Randall’s Island and Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital.
Adams also said there are still challenges in moving migrants from “shelter-like environments” to housing because many of them still don’t have the proper documentation to be legally employed.
About 212,000 asylum seekers have gone through the system since spring 2022, according to city hall.
More than 700 new migrants entered the city’s shelters last week (Aug. 5-11), but the numbers are down significantly from a peak of 4,000.
City Hall representatives said the city’s actions have reduced projected increases in immigration costs by more than $2 billion.
Adams, at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, said the migrant crisis had become more manageable and declared that “the worst is over,” but warned that “we’re not out of the woods yet.”
“You’re going to start to see people feel relieved, and hopefully we’re going to have sensible policies in place,” Adams said, citing shelter stay limits of 30 days for individuals and 60 days for families.
“We’ve gone from 4,000 to, I think, about 700 this week, which is a really big drop. I have to say there were moments when I didn’t see that light, I didn’t think that light was a train coming towards us.”
He credited limits on shelters and fewer border crossings with reducing the number of refugees and keeping astronomical costs down.
“We’ve been criticized, but when people look back on this period they’ll know this was one of the most important things we could have done,” the mayor said.
“People shouldn’t grow up in shelters.”
Adams said the Big Apple deserves respect.
“It was a tough start, but what we’ve done sends a real message of resilience to the city,” Hizzoner said.
“This is a true New York story. We need to document this story.”
Asked if the worst was over, Adams said: “We’re not out of the woods yet. We’re surviving.”
“Hopefully the worst is over. We’re not out of the woods yet, and I want to be very clear about that,” he said. “There are a few violent gangs in the city that we still have to deal with. We need to keep an eye on them.”
—Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy
