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NYC’s daily per-person cost to house migrants climbs to nearly $400

By

Arya Sundaram

Published Oct 23, 2023

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The scene outside the Roosevelt Hotel, which has been converted into a shelter for migrants, in an undated file photo. New York City has quietly started a pilot program where it provides one-time grants of up to $4,000 to help migrant families leave the city's shelter system and secure their own housing.

 

Arun Venugopal / Gothamist

By

Arya Sundaram

Published Oct 23, 2023

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The number of migrants coming to New York City continues to climb, and so too the daily, per-person cost to house and care for them – now $394, up from $363 earlier this year, officials said Monday.

The rising cost was at the center of a City Council oversight hearing, where Adams administration officials were peppered with questions.

“We need to make sure that we're getting the best service for the best price and ensure that we don't spend carelessly just because caring for asylum-seekers presents new and changing policy challenges,” Oversight Committee Chair Gale Brewer said.

Administration officials attributed the increase to rising rents for hotel and shelter space, and the accelerating number of migrants seeking shelter in the city.

It's not just that the demand is increasing, but it's increasing at an accelerating pace.

Michael Chimowitz, assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget

Between early May and mid-October, the number of migrants staying in shelters nearly doubled, officials said, to more than 65,000. Since an influx that began in spring 2022, more than 110,000 migrants have come to the city.

“It's not just that the demand is increasing, but it's increasing at an accelerating pace,” said Michael Chimowitz, assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“It is putting enormous pressure on us to find sites in a very supply-constrained environment, and that is raising the price,” he added.

The adopted city budget included $2.9 billion for migrant-related costs in the fiscal year ending in June, and $1 billion for the following fiscal year, Speaker Adrienne Adams said. But new projections released by the Adams administration in August showed the projected costs rising to $4.7 billion this fiscal year, and $6.1 billion in the following year, she added.

The number of newcomers arriving each day has also surged—from 40 new migrant households a day when the administration was drafting the adopted budget, to 98 new households a day in July, Adams administration officials said.

Since last spring, the administration has opened 213 emergency shelter sites, officials said.

Tagged

new york city

Race And Justice Unit

shelter

Asylum Seekers

Arya Sundaram

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Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.

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