As New York officials have pleaded for help from Washington with sheltering migrants, the Biden administration sent senior advisor to the president, Tom Perez, to City Hall Thursday to meet with Mayor Adams.

“We talked about sites, we talked about decompression, we talked about sort of legal strategies and work authorization pathways, so it was a good conversation,” Adams’ chief of staff, Camille Joseph Varlack, told reporters after the meeting.

At the state level, Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out how she is helping the city deal with migrants, by using the national guard and committing $1 billion to the city. The mayor has said that it could cost $12 billion by 2025.

What You Need To Know

  • Tom Perez, a senior advisor to President Biden, met with Mayor Adams and city officials Thursday

  • Gov. Kathy Hochul responded to the attorney general no longer representing New York in a case over the city's right to shelter mandate

  • Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Councilwoman Julie Won tour the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown where hundreds of migrants are being processed for shelter placement

“I know the state is going to continue helping the mayor of New York with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis to make sure these individuals are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Hochul said.

Hochul also responded to state Attorney General Letitia James, who is no longer representing New York in a lawsuit over the right to shelter law. Hochul rejected the possibility that the mandate would apply statewide.

“The right to shelter does not expand to the whole of the state,” Hochul said.

She says the state can help to bring down the cost of sheltering migrants by getting them out of expensive hotels — arguing for a center set-up on federal land at Floyd Bennett field in Queens to accommodate 2,000 migrants, while “encouraging them to find their own pathway.”

“Part of that comes down to work papers, having legal work status,” she added.

Meanwhile, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who toured the Roosevelt Hotel Thursday, said the Biden administration should expedite the process for getting migrants’ Temporary Protective Status, a chance to state their case before an immigration judge, and the ability to work.

“They didn’t talk to me today about pain or suffering. All they’re asking is, give me a job, give me a job. And that is, we should use this crisis as an opportunity,” Velázquez said.

Councilwoman Julie Won of Queens said the Roosevelt Hotel is constantly at capacity.

“From what we understand and the data that we’re seeing, there’s not even five minutes until an empty hotel room is filled again,” Won said.