As the influx of migrants continues into the city, Mayor Eric Adams is now creating an office to help them.
“We’re now up to 50,000 that we have to manage, care for and healthcare for,” said Adams at a press conference Tuesday.
Of the arrived migrants, about 30,000 remain in the city’s care. The new office aims to streamline the city’s aid to migrants.
“In order to move from an emergency response to a steady state, we will create an Office of Asylum Seeker operations,” said Adams.
The new office will provide help, including legal services, workforce development training and resettlement aid.
Adams also said there are other cities looking to take on some migrants but refused to divulge any other details.
“Please don’t ask me which cities because I don’t need you running and stopping us from getting asylum seekers there. So we’re not telling you. We’ll tell you when they get there,” said Adams, an apparent jab at the New York media. “I know you enjoy pinning cities against cities".”
Adams also refused to attach any cost estimates to the new office or who would be in charge.
The announcement comes as the city continues to struggle to house and care for thousands of asylum seekers.
The city has also opened 92 emergency shelters and eight Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief centers.
“This is not a New York crisis, it’s a United States crisis. And it’s time our national government plays the role,” said the mayor, who has repeatedly called on the White House to deliver funding to the city.
On Monday, the city’s budget director Jacques Jiha said at a City Council hearing that the $800 million in federal aid allocated through Congress’s omnibus bill has not been made available to the city.
So far, officials say they have gotten $2 million from Sen. Chuch Schumer and another $8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Adams also called on the city council to do more than provide $1.2 million in funding.
“They gave us a million out of a $4.2 billion potential windfall. I think they have to dig a little deeper,” said Adams.
The City Council last week announced a new initiative Welcome NYC to offer social services to arriving migrants. The program was funded through $1.2 million of leftover funds from the Department of Youth and Community Development and another $1 million from philanthropic organizations.
Meanwhile, the mayor said the city has spent more than $350 million on the migrant crisis. It is estimated that the city is spending about $5 million a day on the migrants, with each household costing on average $364.
The city will also create a new 24-7 arrival center, though it’s unclear where it will be located and when it will open.