Hochul to issue emergency order to ease NYC migrant crisis
Gov. Kathy Hochul, under fire for not intervening in New York City’s migrant crisis, was set to issue two emergency orders Tuesday to activate 500 more National Guard reservists and speed up $1 billion in aid, state officials told The Post.
Hochul’s team was expected to announce the moves in an afternoon zoom meeting with various county elected officials, the sources said.
The development comes as enraged Hudson Valley officials accused the governor of standing idly by after New York City Mayor Eric Adams last week said he was busing migrants from the overwhelmed Big Apple to hotels in Rockland and Orange counties.
More than 60,000 migrants have flooded Gotham since spring 2022, with 37,000-plus housed in city-run or city-funded shelters and facilities, according to local officials — a situation they have said is unsustainable. Adams said he has to relocate some migrants outside the city because the Big Apple had run out of space.
One of Hochul’s emergency orders will boost the number of National Guard reservists to help handle the flow of migrants in the city by 500 — from 1,000 to 1,500.
The reservists will help city officials manage entry points such as Manhattan’s Port Authority bus terminal, as well as processing centers and migrant shelters.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was set Tuesday to issue an emergency order to ease NYC’s incoming migrant crisis. Hans Pennink
The second order will cut red tape to accelerate the release of $1 billion in state funds already promised to the city in Albany’s new budget.
Adams said the city budget has taken a big hit by laying out funds to process, house, feed and provide other services to migrants and complained that neither President Biden nor Albany has done enough to relieve the fiscal strain. He has estimated the cost of caring for migrants could hit $4.3 billion, although the city’s Independent Budget Office has claimed that figure is overblown.
It was not immediately clear when the extra guards would be deployed, nor when the aid would start being released.
One of Hochul’s emergency orders will boost the number of National Guard reservists to 1,500. Paul Martinka
County officials said it’s about time a flat-footed Hochul showed leadership on a crisis that has triggered a regional war between New York City and Hudson Valley officials over where to house the unrelenting influx of migrants coming from the U.S.-Mexico border.
New York State Association of Counties Executive Director Steve Acquario told The Post on Tuesday that he’s begged Hochul to convene the county leaders and brief them on plans.
“We need a coordinated plan, and we need the governor to convene us. The biggest thing is no one wants to be surprised with a busload of 350 men. It needs to be a staged, coordinated plan,” Acquario said.
The second order will cut red tape to accelerate the release of $1 billion in state funds already promised to the city in Albany’s new budget. Christopher Sadowski
He noted that many suburban and upstate counties are not “sanctuary cities” that want to take in the migrants, many of whom come here illegally and then claim asylum.
“We want Hochul to brief us, talk to us. Is there a plan or is there not a plan to move tens of thousands of migrants from New York City to the rest of the state? And if so, it just can’t be you put them on a bus and send them upstate,” Acquario said.
“Clearly we need the coordination of the federal government and our governor. There are health and safety concerns of venues that are being chosen that are of concern of the upstate county leaders.”
Source: New York Post
