The city comptroller has revoked the mayor's ability to make emergency deals to house and feed migrants.

In a letter obtained by NY1, City Comptroller Brad Lander has revoked Mayor Eric Adams' emergency powers to hire various contractors for migrant services without approval from the Comptroller's Office. 

“Given the rapid expansion of the City’s efforts to shelter arriving asylum seekers, our Office is revising its prior approval,” the letter from the Comptroller’s Office reads.

Chloe Chik, a spokesperson for Lander, said in a statement Tuesday morning that the comptroller’s office had conducted an "extensive review" of $1.7 billion in emergency contracts over a 21-month period and found “extensive failures to report subcontractors despite problems that surfaced with many of them and 80 percent have no performance reviews at all."

“In response, we concluded that the most prudent course for the city's fiscal health and integrity would be to require City Hall to seek prior approval before using emergency procurement on a case-by-case basis, as required by the City Charter, rather than blanket approval to use whenever they want,” Chik said. “We will continue to conduct fast and thorough reviews of emergency contracts, as we always have done."

Adams said he asked for the emergency authority in summer 2022 because he needed to accelerate the city's response to the rapidly growing number of migrants. Lander agreed to the request at the time.

With the reversal of that decision, a City Hall spokesperson said the comptroller is “tying our hands behind our back,” calling the move "unfair to both new arrivals and longtime New Yorkers." 

According to Lander’s letter, the mayor will still be able to issue emergency contracts in order to provide for migrants, although each contract much be approved by the comptroller first.

Adams faced widespread criticism earlier this year for the $432 million, no-bid contract he made with medical services firm DocGo, which allegedly mistreated migrants.

State Attorney General Letitia James eventually launched an investigation into DocGo, and the CEO of the company stepped down in September.

The mayor is addressing the migrant issue on two fronts this week. 

Adams has again set up meetings in Washington after canceling meetings in November on the day he learned his campaign was being investigated by the FBI.

He's scheduled to return Thursday to Washington, D.C., where he will take part in meetings with Biden administration officials on how the federal government can help coordinate migrant response, according to City Hall.

Adams is also participating in the eighth annual Cities for Action summit, a two-day event hosted by New York City that brings together representatives from more than 20 cities across the country to discuss the asylum seeker crisis. The event is expected to wrap up Tuesday.