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NYC’s soaring costs for asylum-seekers now projected to top $12 billion by June 2025
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Aug 9, 2023
Modified Aug 9, 2023
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By
Arya Sundaram
Published Aug 9, 2023
Modified Aug 9, 2023
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New York City’s bill to house and care for newly arrived migrants is projected to surpass $12 billion by the end of June 2025, according to new forecasts released by the mayor's office on Wednesday.
The mounting costs will require the city to find another $7 billion to foot the bill, on top of what’s already been allocated, Mayor Eric Adams said during a morning press conference. The rising price tag comes despite Adams' latest efforts to curb the ballooning shelter population, and the mayor renewed pleas for more state and federal aid.
“This is the budgetary reality we are facing if we don't get the additional support we need from the federal and state governments,” Adams said.
This is the budgetary reality we are facing if we don't get the additional support we need from the federal and state governments.
Mayor Eric Adams
Thus far, the federal government will cover only a fraction of the costs — some $140 million. And the city still has “not received a dollar” yet, Jacques Jiha, director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Management and Budget, said in an afternoon briefing.
The rapid growth of the shelter population in the last month has more than doubled the budget office's projections, according to an agency report. On average, 98 new asylum-seeker households entered the system daily over the past month, up from a daily estimate of 40 households, based on prior months’ data.
Migrants sent to New York City via chartered bus, courtesy of Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, arrive at the underpass outside of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan earlier this year. They were greeted by Manuel Castro, commissioner of the mayor's office of immigrant affairs, and Power Malu (holding child), executive director of Artists Athletes Activists, among volunteers and others offering assistance.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
In an effort to curb the growth by 20%, according to the report, the Adams administration last month announced a plan to limit adult migrants’ shelter stays to 60 days, with the option to reapply. Even that reduction would still leave the city with another 55 households entering the shelter system each day, according to the budget office's forecasts, and with mounting costs.
“The city is running out of money, appropriate space and personnel to care for families,” Adams said.
The city spent $1.45 billion on new arrivals during this past fiscal year. And, even with Adams’ 60-day shelter limit, the tab for the fiscal year ending next June is now expected to reach $4.7 billion. That amount nearly equals the combined yearly budgets of the city's parks, sanitation and fire departments.
Earlier, the estimated expenditure on asylum-seekers for the fiscal year was put at $2.8 billion. The annual costs are expected to reach $6.1 billion in the budget year ending in June 2025.
Adams said the city currently spends an average of $383 a night to shelter and care for each new migrant family — a sum of $9.8 million a day and $300 million a month.
Optimism from the governor
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has been facing increasing pressure from advocacy groups to take a more active role in the crisis. The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless have both echoed Adams’ calls for more help from the state.
The shelter watchdogs have been in legal discussions over the Adams’ administration’s recent request to alter a decades-old court order requiring the city to provide shelter that meets certain minimum standards.
“This is a moment that requires the full resources and authority of government from all levels, and the city should not have to shoulder the response without meaningful assistance from both the Biden and Hochul administrations,” the organizations said in a joint statement.
Speaking to reporters after an unrelated event Wednesday in Brooklyn, Hochul reiterated her calls for more federal support and suggested the Biden administration is getting closer to approving the use of Floyd Bennett Field in southeastern Brooklyn as a site for housing migrants.
“I'm very, very optimistic – but I don't have final confirmation based on my calls last night – that we might be able to have a place like Floyd Bennett Field, which allows for a large-scale operation to be able to help house these people in a place that's accessible by buses,” she said.
Hochul first asked Biden to open up the Brooklyn airfield back in May.
The state has so far allocated $1 billion toward assisting with migrant arrivals. The funds have helped pay for the 2,000 National Guard members who have staff relief centers and other shelter facilities, according to Hochul.
The Democratic governor said the state will likely look at allocating an additional $1 billion when state lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Capitol next year.
Adams also acknowledged that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent a team to assess the city’s shelter response, as previously reported by NY1.
But he maintained that the federal government needs to send the city more money and expedite the process for newcomers to obtain work permits and find jobs to support themselves legally.
Albany reporter Jon Campbell contributed to this report.
This article was updated with additional information, including from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Tagged
Asylum Seekers
new york
Race And Justice Unit
eric adams
Immigrant
Arya Sundaram
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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