New York City will spend $1.365 billion to house migrants in the next three years, according to a new report.
The city’s contract with local hotels is nearly five times what was originally projected, the New York Post said in a story that published late Monday. And that tally doesn’t include rental costs for other facilities the city uses to house migrants.
Earlier in September, the city said that more than 110,000 asylum seekers had come to the five boroughs since April 2022. The wave of arrivals has since continued — Mayor Eric Adams said it equates to about 10,000 individuals each month — and has resulted in some protests, with some locals saying the city should make its own residents a higher priority.
The housing costs have been a particular sore spot. Some politicians say it’s a sweet deal for hoteliers but hurts the city’s bottom line.
“The migrant crisis has evolved into a financial boondoggle, with quietly extended contracts fattening the pockets of a few at the taxpayer’s expense,” Robert Holden, a city councilman, told the New York Post.
But it’s not just hotel expenses that are adding up. In all, Mayor Adams has said it will run the city $12.45 billion over the next three fiscal years to deal with the migrant crisis. He has argued for increased financial assistance from New York state and the federal government.
“Our compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not. This is the budgetary reality we are facing if we don’t get the additional support we need,” Adams said in August.
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