BUFFALO, NY — With more than 71,000 migrants currently in New York and most of them in New York City, Governor Kathy Hochul says she has been working all week with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the federal government to find housing options.
“We’re working closely with them, literally hour by hour, trying to identify places where there are welcoming communities,” Hochul said.
Several counties in the north of the state have already indicated that they do not welcome the migrant population and have declared states of emergency. County leaders say they don’t have the resources or the space to help.
“There is no cost to the locality. This is simply allowing people to be welcomed whether it’s a hotel, whether it’s a campus, and the money follows them. The money will cover the costs of all the services they will need. I I think a lot of people still don’t know that. They assume they’re going to be taken care of by the local community. That’s not the case here,” Hochul said.
He said the state is also working very hard to try to get people into legal work status quickly. Hochul believes that communities will be more welcoming if migrants can work on their farms, for example in restaurants and hotels.
In the meantime, his office continues to look at all housing options, including state college campuses. The governor said he plans to announce some possibilities soon.
“We’re just doing a general survey of all the state’s assets. No decisions have been made, but I wanted to find out what’s available at everything from DOT facilities to our DEC offices to literally in every place where we have space,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hochul said she is deeply concerned about the apparent fabrication of a story about an Orange County hotel where veterans were allegedly being accommodated for incoming migrants.
“These people were sent there under a legal contract between the city of New York and a hotel owner. They’re allowed to contract that way and if people want to make up stories to undermine the whole process, I think that’s reprehensible,” he said.
