Migrant dilemma triggered ‘unmatched’ worry on New York City shelters_ City Hall report
The Big Apple’s migrant crisis sparked an “unprecedented” increase in the number of people living in taxpayer-funded homeless sanctuaries, according to a Municipal government record released Tuesday.
The daily average shelter population surged 20.8% — to 54,838 — during the first four months of fiscal 2023, which began July 1, the Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report for February said.
That’s up from an average of 45,381 during the same time in fiscal 2022, with the report saying the spike was “driven by an unprecedented increase in entrants, primarily related to the influx of asylum seekers from the southern United States border.”
The increase — which followed two successive years of declines — was even greater when combined with the final months of fiscal 2022 when the flood of migrants to the city began.
Those figures showed that the number of families with children who entered the shelter system spiked 41.8% while the number of single adults more than doubled, by 104.7%, according to the report.
“This rapid increase in entries resulted in growth of 26.9% in the families with children census and of 9.5% the single adult census, despite increases in exits to permanent housing over that same period,” the report said.
According to a City Hall report, the city’s migrant dilemma has caused an “unmatched” rise in the number of people living in homeless shelters. Robert Mecea
But the number of families receiving welfare benefits actually declined from 78.8% to 67.6% during July through October, compared to the same period a year ago.
“Partly this is a result of families remaining in conditional eligibility status for longer periods, contributing to a delay in the public assistance application process, as well as to the unprecedented boost in entries of asylum seekers,” the report said.
The rate of “serious and violent incidents” among shelter residents also dropped in all three categories of shelters: single adults, adult families and families with children.
“The decline of serious incidents within the families with children system was attributable to the decrease in COVID-19-related incidents, including quarantining of both staff and clients,” the report said.
“Within the single adult shelter system, the decrease in serious incidents was in large part due to a decrease in facility-related incidents — including heating, water and electrical failures that last more than four hours.”
The time period covered by the report includes the suicide of a despondent migrant mom from Colombia who hanged herself from a shower rod with an electrical cord inside a Queens homeless shelter on Sept. 18.
Migrants camped on the sidewalk outside of the Watson Hotel on Jan. 31, 2023. Gregory P. Mango
Mayor Eric Adams has said that the city will likely spend as much as $2 billion to provide shelter and other services to the migrant population, and he’s repeatedly called on President Biden’s administration to cough up at least $1 billion.
On Tuesday, Adams spoke privately with Biden following the president’s appearance in New York City, and they agreed to set a date to discuss the matter further, a source told The Post.
Earlier this month, Adams also made an “emergency mutual aid request” for Gov. Kathy Hochul to immediately provide housing for an initial 500 migrants, saying the city was “at our breaking point.”
Migrants waiting to board a bus to relocate them to a facility in Brooklyn on Jan. 31, 2023. Matthew McDermott
As of Sunday, the estimated migrant population was 43,200, with 28,200 residing in 86 emergency sanctuaries and processing centers, according to City Hall.
Hochul — who’s set to unveil her proposed budget for monetary 2023-2024 on Wednesday — has yet to publicly respond beyond claiming that she’s been helping Adams “for many months as well as will certainly remain to provide him sustain.”