NEW YORK CITY, NY - According to the New York Post, dozens of migrants and migrant advocates protested outside Gracie Mansion on Thursday, November 16th.
Their protest was directed at New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as they "demanded" he stop trying to "nix" the city's "right to shelter" law amid the ongoing out of control asylum seeker crisis that is plaguing the city.
The protestors staged a "sleep in," which was complete with sleeping bags and tents outside Adam's official residence on the Upper East Side. They protested against the mayor's push to suspend the decades-old mandate that requires the city to provide a bed for anyone who asks for one.
As migrants continue to flood the Big Apple, New York Governor Kathy Hochul formally declared her decision to side with Adams in his attempt to cease the city's "right to shelter" law. On Wednesday, November 15th, an attorney for the governor's office filed in Manhattan Supreme Court stating, "Despite unprecedented resources deployed by the City and the State to assist the newly arrived migrants, the current situation is not sustainable."
The new filing is the first time Hochul has done more than just saying she supports Adams and changing the decades-old mandate. The letter to the court reads, in part, "The City entered into the Consent Decree over forty years ago. The parties to the Consent Decree could not have contemplated that the City would experience the influx of so many migrants in such a short period of time."
The letter added, "The State Defendants agree that flexibility is imperative to address the surge of migrant arrivals" and that the State supports the "City's letter application for leave to move for a modification of the Consent Decree."
During the protests, migrant advocates slammed Adams for his recently imposed 30-or60-day shelter stay limits for asylum seekers. Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, told the crowd of protestors, "The shelter limits and threats to the city's right to shelter imposed by this administration are appalling, illegal and go against our city's legacy of helping those in need and welcoming immigrants from all walks of life."
Adams and his administration are challenging the "right to shelter" rule, arguing that the city is already at capacity due to the tens-of-thousands of migrants that have poured into the city since spring of 2022.
On Thursday, November 16th, Adams announced a slew of budget cuts citywide and in the past has stated that the asylum seeker crisis will set the city back nearly $12 billion over the next three fiscal years.
The protestors still insist that there are other avenues the city could pursue to combat the lack of bed spaces for migrants, including extending City FHEPS housing vouchers to asylum seekers. Protestors claim that this would also avoid the need for budget cuts to other city-wide services.
Awawdeh said, "We know that City FHEPS vouchers will save the city over $3 billion, ease the burden on our shelter system, while putting people on the path to stability."
He added, "It's long past time that they mayor move away from the emergency response mentality he finds himself in, scapegoating immigrants for his inaction and move toward long-term solutions that will support asylum seekers and alleviate our historically overburdened shelter system."
Since the start of the migrant crisis, nearly 125,000 migrants have come to New York City and more than 60,000 remain in the city's care. In a statement, Adams said, "To be very clear, the city is not seeking to terminate [the right to shelter]; we are simply asking for the city's obligation to be aligned with those of the rest of the state during states of emergency."
He added, "And throughout this crisis, not a single family with children has been forced to sleep on the streets. But, as we have said repeatedly, with upwards of 10,000 asylum seekers continuing to arrive every month, New York City cannot continue to do this alone."
Their protest was directed at New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as they "demanded" he stop trying to "nix" the city's "right to shelter" law amid the ongoing out of control asylum seeker crisis that is plaguing the city.
The protestors staged a "sleep in," which was complete with sleeping bags and tents outside Adam's official residence on the Upper East Side. They protested against the mayor's push to suspend the decades-old mandate that requires the city to provide a bed for anyone who asks for one.
As migrants continue to flood the Big Apple, New York Governor Kathy Hochul formally declared her decision to side with Adams in his attempt to cease the city's "right to shelter" law. On Wednesday, November 15th, an attorney for the governor's office filed in Manhattan Supreme Court stating, "Despite unprecedented resources deployed by the City and the State to assist the newly arrived migrants, the current situation is not sustainable."
The new filing is the first time Hochul has done more than just saying she supports Adams and changing the decades-old mandate. The letter to the court reads, in part, "The City entered into the Consent Decree over forty years ago. The parties to the Consent Decree could not have contemplated that the City would experience the influx of so many migrants in such a short period of time."
The letter added, "The State Defendants agree that flexibility is imperative to address the surge of migrant arrivals" and that the State supports the "City's letter application for leave to move for a modification of the Consent Decree."
During the protests, migrant advocates slammed Adams for his recently imposed 30-or60-day shelter stay limits for asylum seekers. Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, told the crowd of protestors, "The shelter limits and threats to the city's right to shelter imposed by this administration are appalling, illegal and go against our city's legacy of helping those in need and welcoming immigrants from all walks of life."
Adams and his administration are challenging the "right to shelter" rule, arguing that the city is already at capacity due to the tens-of-thousands of migrants that have poured into the city since spring of 2022.
On Thursday, November 16th, Adams announced a slew of budget cuts citywide and in the past has stated that the asylum seeker crisis will set the city back nearly $12 billion over the next three fiscal years.
The protestors still insist that there are other avenues the city could pursue to combat the lack of bed spaces for migrants, including extending City FHEPS housing vouchers to asylum seekers. Protestors claim that this would also avoid the need for budget cuts to other city-wide services.
Awawdeh said, "We know that City FHEPS vouchers will save the city over $3 billion, ease the burden on our shelter system, while putting people on the path to stability."
He added, "It's long past time that they mayor move away from the emergency response mentality he finds himself in, scapegoating immigrants for his inaction and move toward long-term solutions that will support asylum seekers and alleviate our historically overburdened shelter system."
Since the start of the migrant crisis, nearly 125,000 migrants have come to New York City and more than 60,000 remain in the city's care. In a statement, Adams said, "To be very clear, the city is not seeking to terminate [the right to shelter]; we are simply asking for the city's obligation to be aligned with those of the rest of the state during states of emergency."
He added, "And throughout this crisis, not a single family with children has been forced to sleep on the streets. But, as we have said repeatedly, with upwards of 10,000 asylum seekers continuing to arrive every month, New York City cannot continue to do this alone."
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2023-11-19T15:33-0500 | Comment by: John
Well as a basically liberal state, I think they have bitten off more of the “Big Apple” than they could chew. It appears that the largest cities in the US are finally getting the message that Biden’s border policies are killing the budgets for the homeless and illegals. They got what they wanted. God help us all.
2023-11-19T16:28-0500 | Comment by: James
Talk to jb about shutting the border. If he isn't any help then bus them back to where they came from.
2023-11-19T16:28-0500 | Comment by: James
Talk to jb about shutting the border. If he isn't any help then bus them back to where they came from.
2023-11-19T16:50-0500 | Comment by: Frank
Mayor Moron #2 it's willing to make cuts in the fire and Police department ,sanitation and other essential services for illegal immigrants this just goes to show that just because someone has a master's degree doesn't mean that they're educated
2023-11-19T18:13-0500 | Comment by: Francis
When Trump id POTUS again we are going to have mass deportations anyway
2023-11-20T11:10-0500 | Comment by: Jim
I totally agree with Francis that when Trump becomes President again he will deport all the criminal immigrants that he can find! That alone will help NYC! I also agree that this law, while very humane, is going to break NYC and needs to be removed to something more intelligent and workable. Kudos to the Mayor and the Governer for admitting this law is wrong. Maybe they are becoming more to the right!