NEW YORK (PIX11) — As New York City continues to scramble to find places for the hundreds of migrants arriving daily.
More than 300 asylum seekers are now being housed at a former school building on Staten Island. Moreover, while Mayor Eric Adams and his team have backed off on plans to use the gymnasiums of current schools for migrants, he is not ruling it out in the future.
Adams has been pleading with the Biden administration to speed up work authorizations for asylum seekers to help move along some of the 41,500 people the city is still caring for in shelters and hotels.
On Wednesday, Adams painted a dire picture of migrants occupying about half the hotel rooms in the city. He clarified on Thursday on MSNBC that numbers are more like half the small and midsized hotels the city contracts with to house asylum seekers.
One New York congresswoman, however, is taking a different approach to the situation.
“It was an unsustainable mistake he made from the very beginning,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. “Now you’ve sent the wrong message, encouraging more people to come to New York City because they will get free housing.”
Malliotakis said Adams should never have offered migrants protection under the city’s “right to shelter” law in the first place.
As for solutions to the underlying issues — the congresswoman pointed to the bill Republicans passed last week. It would allow some asylum seekers to work while here and streamline the asylum process by rejecting more claims right at the southern border.
However, the proposal comes with policies reminiscent of former President Donald Trump’s time in office, like “remain in Mexico” and border wall funding — unpopular with most Democrats.
“You have to stop the flow before you solve the problem, and I think we can work with the Senate and come up with a solution here if the president is not going to do anything,” Malliotakis said.
Malliotakis hopes Adams can continue to pressure his fellow Democrats to work out that compromise.
As for what New York should do now, Malliotakis said Adams should stop accepting migrants. Adams has said he will not allow asylum seekers to sleep on the street like other cities.
The mayor’s office said the city is operating 150 different sites, including hotels and repurposed buildings.
