Colonie supervisor says NYC violated migrant emergency order
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
COLONIE — The town's supervisor sent a lengthy statement out Saturday alleging that at least one busload of asylum-seekers driven from New York City was scheduled to arrive at a hotel in Colonie this weekend without the Albany County executive's office being notified — a requirement of an executive order the county issued on Tuesday.
Supervisor Peter Crummey said in his statement that he was notified late Friday "by our Albany County Executive that NYC Mayor Adams has unilaterally directed at least one busload of migrants from New York City to arrive this weekend at the Sure Stay Best Western Motel on Wolf Road in Colonie."
He claimed that another location nearby off Computer Drive was rejected because of its location in the suburb.
"Notwithstanding that the Wolf Road area has no services necessary to service an influx of persons of unknown health, dietary, and behavioral histories," Crummey wrote. The supervisor didn't explain what he meant by "behavioral histories."
Crummey noted that Albany County Executive Dan McCoy's executive order May 23 required that the county be notified to coordinate housing for migrants and asylum-seekers being transported here, and that only the county social services commissioner could issue licenses to hotels, motels or other dwellings to house groups of people.
"While that order did not necessarily exclude the possibility of migrants being housed within the county, it distinctly required a collaborated and coordinated deliberate plan amongst state, county and local officials as well as non-profit organizations," wrote Crummey, a Republican. "The county executive’s statement concerning his order specifically confirms this approach rather than 'a unilateral decision of one city.'"
Crummey also said the Wolf Road hotel where asylum-seekers might be placed has had more than 200 police calls to it in the past 18 months.
His statement went on to allege that New York City Mayor Eric Adams' "refusal to respect our county executive’s order places the public health, safety and welfare of our residents and those migrants on his bus in jeopardy."
Crummey also directed his frustration at the city of Albany — although it's unclear from the statement what role, if any, he is alleging city officials had in the coordination of moving migrant people to shelter in Colonie.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan responded later Saturday night in her own statement: "For the Colonie Town Supervisor to say that the City of Albany had a hand in steering the bus to a hotel on Wolf Road is an outright lie," she wrote.
Sheehan said in recent days she "has been in contact with New York City officials to identify hotels within the city of Albany that could provide housing and connect them with a vast network of local community-based organizations that offer additional services to asylum seekers."
“The facts are the City of New York put asylum seekers on a bus and chose Wolf Road. The City of New York is paying for those hotel rooms, as well as the food and services needed," wrote Sheehan, a Democrat.
“As a fellow elected official, I do hope the Colonie town supervisor shares my belief that these asylum seekers are guests in our communities and their well-being must be a priority for all of us,” she added.
The one fact not specifically addressed in either officials' statement is whether the hotel having an Albany ZIP code might explain why an entity chose that location to house people. In the Capital Region, many ZIP codes have a location name that doesn't align with the actual municipality the address is located in.
Some upstate communities have had to swiftly deal with migrants and asylum-seekers being bused from New York City as the city itself struggles with how to house and care for the thousands who have arrived there.
It was unclear late Saturday night when, or even if, people will still be bused to the hotel in Colonie. On Sunday, a SureStay staffer directed questions to a manager, who would be on later in the morning.
Meanwhile, Albany County legislators Frank Mauriello and Paul Burgdorf, both Republicans who represent Colonie, released statements, calling those expected to arrive "illegal aliens," who would "arrive in the dead of night."
"Albany is a sanctuary city, we are not a sanctuary town," Mauriello's statement read. "The county executive needs to step in and enforce his emergency declaration.”
Steve Hughes and Melissa Manno contributed to this report.
Source: Times Union
