NEW YORK (PIX11) — New York City is asking a court to force the State of New York to do more to support its effort to care for more than 100,000 migrants who have been bused to town, according to a letter first obtained by PIX11 News. There are 59,000 migrants directly being cared for by the city.
In the letter, the city seeks modifications to the “Right to Shelter” decree under the case of Callahan v. Carey. Read the letter here. The letter asks for the expansion of a program where the state resettles migrants outside of New York City to include resettlement prior to asylum applications being completed.
The letter also requests additional funding to push asylum paperwork. Furthermore, the city wants Gov. Kathy Hochul to block other localities from stifling city efforts to resettle migrants outside of New York City.
New York City is seeking an expansion of state-sponsored migrant sites and help for city migrant support efforts. Finally, the letter details concerns the city has with some sites the state has suggested for migrant housing.
PIX11 News asked a City Hall spokesperson about the letter and was sent the following statement.
“New York City has moved heaven and earth largely alone to provide care to more than 101,200 asylum seekers asking for shelter. After opening more than 200 emergency sites, we’re grateful that Governor Hochul is eager to collaborate on solutions to this crisis. Our partnership helped secure Floyd Bennett Field as a site to host asylum seekers, and we thank Governor Hochul for her commitment to pay for that site, as well as for partially funding additional case management services. We appreciate her perspective on how the city has managed the crisis to date, and we’ll take any opportunity to work together on best practices moving forward.
“In our response, we’ve identified areas of focus where additional state support can truly make a difference. That includes providing and operating state-owned sites inside and outside of New York City that are viable shelter locations, expanding and taking active ownership over the upstate resettlement program, increasing funding for tools that help open capacity in our shelter system, and more. We’ll continue to work with the governor to solve this crisis, and we need Washington to show this same level of engagement – starting with declaring a federal state of emergency and allowing asylum seekers to legally work.”
New York City Hall spokesperson
