NEW YORK — The battle between Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul over the asylum seeker crisis has taken a new turn.
The mayor insists many of the state’s assertions about his leadership are just plain wrong. Adams was careful not to call out Hochul, just her arguments.
The letter sent by her attorney could be regarded as exhibit “A” in the governor’s fight to convince a judge not to extend New York City’s right to shelter law to the rest of the state.
READ MORE: Protesters clash with police outside new asylum seeker shelter in Queens, several arrested
But its harsh criticism of the city’s response to the asylum seeker crisis was just too much for Adams to stomach, especially the part where Hochul’s lawyer told the judge the city ignored the state’s offer of 16 shelter sites that could house 3,000 people.
“The sites that were given to us, some of them were in flood plains, some of them were not suitable to build,” Adams said. “The worst thing you could do is house migrants in a flood plain area and all of a sudden you have an emergency where you have to move people out of that location.”
The mayor insisted the letter didn’t slam him, even though it accused him of a number of transgressions, including:
- Being slow to act
- Failing to use a $25 million state resettlement program for 1,250 households
- Allowing hundreds of migrants to sleep on the street outside The Roosevelt Hotel when beds were available elsewhere
That last assertion, the mayor said, is just plain wrong.
“That’s a little dishonest in what people looked at. Laws require us to have a certain number of beds open for a particular population — domestic violence and others. So we’re not going to violate the law,” Adams said.
READ MORE: Asylum seekers head to Ellis Island to begin their path to citizenship
The mayor also took issues with the assertion that the city is not using all the state money earmarked for asylum seekers, the contention the state advanced the city $250 million, but the city submitted receipts for $138 million.
“Many people don’t understand we’re not getting dollar for dollar. We’re getting 29% per dollar,” Adams said.
By that calculation, the city would have to submit over $400 million in recipients to get the $138 million.
READ MORE: CBS New York gets tour of new asylum seeker center at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
The court case has put the governor on the hot seat because the Legal Aid Society and advocacy groups say she hasn’t done enough.
The mayor says that since the federal government won’t step up the state should pay two-thirds of the bill, which is not something the governor is anxious to do.
