Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency on Friday as the number of people in New York City’s overwhelmed homeless shelters headed for a record amid the influx of thousands of migrants from Latin America.
He called for state and federal funding to help pay for housing and services and urged the federal government to allow newly arrived asylum seekers to work legally and to slow the northward flow of migrants from the border. He spoke as the population of the city’s main shelter system, which stood at 61,379 on Thursday, was set to break the record of 61,415 set in 2019. At least nine more migrant buses arrived on Friday.
Mr. Adams said that the migrants were on pace to send the shelter population soaring above 100,000 and that the influx could cost the city $1 billion in the current fiscal year alone.
“We need help, and we need it now,” Mr. Adams said in a speech.
The mayor’s declaration allows the city to open emergency relief centers more quickly by exempting them from the normal land-use and community-review process that often slows the opening of shelters.
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SOURCE: The New York Times, Andy Newman and Emma G. Fitzsimmons
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