Attorney for Gov. Kathy Hochul sends scathing letter to judge about NYC's handling of asylum seeker crisis
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams' handling of the asylum seeker crisis has been called into question in the harshest of terms by a lawyer representing Gov. Kathy Hochul.
It comes as the state is on the hot seat in a legal action over the right to shelter and demands from both the city and advocates that Team Hochul do a lot more to help solve the crisis.
It's an unusual battle between the mayor and the governor, officials who have tried to make it seem that everything is hunky dory between them. But the court battle makes it clear that they are not on the same page, not by a long shot.
For example, the mayor wants the governor get other localities to accept asylum seekers, but she is apparently not on board with that.
"Let's be very clear -- you cannot involuntarily take people from the city and send them all over the state of New York," Hochul said during a phone interview on NY1 on Wednesday. "Putting someone in a hotel on a dark, lonely road in upstate New York and telling them they're supposed to survive is not compassion."
READ MORE: CBS New York gets tour of new asylum seeker center at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
Hochul said as much not long after her lawyer slammed the mayor's management of the asylum seeker crisis in intensely personal terms. It's part of a court suit over the right to shelter, with the city demanding the state do more, including:
- Picking up two-thirds of the expenses connected with caring for the new arrivals
- Absorbing education and shelter-related costs for migrants sent upstate, costs the city has been shouldering
The governor also argued that New York City, which is at the breaking point with 101,200 asylum seekers, is the best place for them.
"The city has more opportunities for them to work, has more opportunities with public transportation. It has more English as a second language programs than they do in these rural counties," Hochul said.
READ MORE: Staten Island borough president blasts idea of turning Fort Wadsworth into asylum seeker shelter
The letter sent to the judge by Hochul's lawyer Faith Gay, slammed Mayor Adams for:
- Being slow to act
- Ignoring suggestions early on to set up large shelters in tents
- Being slow to submit receipts for state reimbursements
- Ignoring state offers for shelter sites that could house up to 3,000 migrants
- Failing to use a $25 million state resettlement program for 1,250 households
- Failing to use $10 million in state funds for programs to help migrants get asylum and work authorization
- Allowing hundreds of migrants to sleep on the street outside The Roosevelt Hotel, when beds were available elsewhere
"It is true that they did not accept some of the help we offered," Hochul said.
The state offered the city places like Aqueduct Race Track, the Manhattan and Brooklyn cruise terminals, Pier 7 in Brooklyn, and gyms at Roberto Clemente State Park in the Bronx and Riverbank State Park in Manhattan.
At its weekly update on the asylum seeker crisis, the city argued that some of the sites the state offered were not feasible.
"Sometimes, it's the economic impact. Sometimes, it's the impact to the community. There are a number of sites that have significant community impacts. There are sites that have environmental factors, like flooding," Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said.
READ MORE: White House officials meet with Mayor Eric Adams to collaborate on asylum seeker crisis response
CBS New York asked Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy if he thought the criticisms in the state letter were fair.
"We've been very clear we cannot handle this crisis solely on our own," Levy said. "There are a couple of things we would over the state to take the lead on."
Ironically, the deputy mayor said he wants the state to take a more active role in stopping localities from issuing orders to prevent asylum seekers from coming to their counties.
The next court hearing is scheduled for next week.
