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In Hudson Valley, local officials brace for arrival of migrants from NYC
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 10, 2023
Modified May 10, 2023
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Photo by Jon Campbell
By
Jon Campbell
Published May 10, 2023
Modified May 10, 2023
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Local police officers and sheriff’s deputies kept watch on the grounds of the Crossroads Hotel in the town of Newburgh Wednesday morning, setting up a potential showdown with the expected arrival of a busload of migrants sent there by New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The police are there to attempt to enforce a local state of emergency designed to prevent the hotel from housing the migrants, according to Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus.
In an interview, Neuhaus said he spoke directly with Adams early Wednesday morning and asked him to hold off on sending the expected bus of 60 individuals — which the mayor’s office signaled would soon be on its way as recently as late Tuesday.
Around 9 a.m., Neuhaus told Gothamist he wasn’t sure whether Adams heeded his message.
“I asked him to stop that,” Neuhaus said. “Whether he does that or not, I don’t know. If they do come into the county [Wednesday], we’ll have a problem because they are going against our state of emergency and that is going to create a very difficult situation. ”
Late Tuesday, Adams’ office issued a statement saying it would transport a “small number” of migrants to the Orange County hotel on Wednesday — even though a judge issued a temporary order preventing the mayor from sending migrants to a separate hotel in neighboring Rockland County.
The city plans to pay for shelter, food and services for the people it’s planning to send to other counties, the mayor’s office said.
A spokesperson for Adams did not immediately respond to questions on whether the city still plans to send people to the Newburgh hotel Wednesday.
The mayor’s plan to send migrants, some of whom are asylum-seekers, to New York City’s northern suburbs comes as the state and the city prepare for an increase in new arrivals amid the looming expiration on Thursday of Title 42, a COVID-era order allowing the U.S. to turn away migrants and asylum-seekers at the border.
Nearly 70,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring. Some were bused north by officials in southern border states with hardline immigration policies.
More than half of the newcomers are staying in homeless shelters and emergency housing set up and run by the city. Adams has repeatedly said this is straining the city's shelter system, and could cost over $4 billion over the next two years. City officials have also raised concerns over access to resources available to other New Yorkers.
Neuhaus said he asked the mayor to “wait a few days,” at least until Adams has the chance to address county executives across the state on a call scheduled for late Thursday morning.
By late Wednesday morning, there was a buzz of activity at the hotel, located just off I-84 in the shadow of the Stewart Airport Diner and across the street from a truck stop. A handful of private security guards in black polo shirts stood near the entrance, while Newburgh police officers and Orange County sheriff’s deputies were parked in the back.
At one point, a Newburgh code enforcement vehicle pulled up to the front of the parking lot. Neuhaus’ executive order says Orange County code does not allow hotels to be used for long-term residence.
Neuhaus said the officers have been deployed to the property since Tuesday and are prepared to enforce his executive order if a bus arrives. He said he does not anticipate any attempted arrests; instead, they’re there to inform the hotel and city officials of his state of emergency blocking hotels from accepting migrants, in hopes of convincing them to scrap the plan.
“Of all people, I’m a pretty reasonable person,” Neuhaus said. “My parents are both immigrants here. … There’s better ways of doing this, and the fact is we have a massive lack of leadership.”
A small group of volunteers joined two Orange County legislators and one Newburgh city legislator — all Democrats — outside the hotel Wednesday afternoon, pledging their support for the migrants and denouncing Neuhaus' executive order.
County legislator Genesis Ramos, who represents the town and city of Newburgh, stressed that New York City will be picking up the migrants' lodging, food and case worker costs.
"We are committed to ensuring that these folks are supported and received with dignity here in Orange County and in Newburgh," she said. "Despite the rhetoric, it is completely untrue: Orange County is not going to foot the bill for these folks. ... This is being fully funded by New York City.
Speaking to reporters in Manhattan, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said her office is examining Neuhaus’ state of emergency order, as well as a separate one issued by Rockland County Executive Ed Day, to determine whether they would hold up in court.
“We're looking at the constitutionality of what they did, what the impact is,” Hochul said.
The governor signed a separate state of emergency on Tuesday that, among other things, relaxed New York’s contracting and purchasing rules to allow it to secure space and goods to help house migrants as it prepares for the expiration of Title 42 later this week.
The governor said the state is trying to identify places to house migrants as the city shelters deal with capacity shortages.
“We believe that this is going to continue to grow in scale,” Hochul said. “I'm working very closely with the mayor to identify more sites where we can welcome these individuals. They're human beings. They deserve to be treated with dignity, but also we're going to have a capacity issue, so we’re going to have to look for other places, as well.”
At the Newburgh hotel, the gathering of police, security and media — with reporters parked on the side of the road after they were shooed off the hotel property — drew a few local onlookers, including some from a nearby apartment complex.
Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson, a Democrat whose district includes the town of Newburgh, said he’s concerned that New York City hasn’t arranged enough case workers to work with the 60 migrants destined for the hotel.
“If you don’t have the proper treatment available, it’s as inhumane as [Texas] Gov. [Greg] Abbott dumping migrants in New York City,” Jacobson said. “I’m not fearful for the safety of it. I'm worried about getting these people the help they need.”
On the other hand, Bonnie Orzechowski said she has grave concerns about the arrival of the migrants. As she spoke with reporters hanging out the passenger’s window of a gray SUV, Orzechowski said she lives “seven-tenths of a mile right down the road” from the hotel.
“I’ve never had to lock my doors since I’ve been here,” she said. “Now all of a sudden, I'm locking up my car. I'm locking my doors. I’ve got to close my curtains. Why? Because I don’t know who these people are. I have no idea who these people are.”
There was still no sign of the bus at the hotel as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
This story has been updated with new details.
Tagged
new york state
new york city
Asylum Seekers
Kathy Hochul
Politics
eric adams
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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