New York Mayor Eric Adams announced on the imposition of a state of emergency on the city in relation to the migration crisis: in recent months so many migrants have arrived in the city, hoping to receive asylum in the United States, that the city housing system is unable to cope. According to the mayor, 1 billion dollars will be spent on solving the crisis in the current fiscal year.
Since April, more than 17,000 migrants (mostly from South America) have arrived in New York to seek asylum in the United States, the mayor said. Places were provided for their accommodation in 42 shelters for the homeless. And with more than 44,000 homeless people in New York, the total number of people in need of shelter in the shelters has exceeded 61,000, of which nearly 20,000 are children. According to Mr. Adams, this is “a record number in the history of the city’s shelter system.” According to his estimates, if migrants continue to arrive at the same rate, the number of people in need of accommodation in the reception centers will exceed 100,000 next year.The city authorities have already opened a coordination center for asylum seekers, where they come provided with legal and psychological assistance, provide them with the necessary items, organize the necessary care, organize the children in schools and so on. Migrants are now being accommodated in hotels and hostels and a large humanitarian aid center will open in the coming weeks, which will be able to accommodate several hundred more people.
Meanwhile, the mayor warned that the city was already at the limit of its capabilities, both in terms of welcoming migrants and in terms of the financial aspect of the issue. In this regard, he has asked for additional funds for federal and state emergency assistance in New York and has also appealed to city residents to provide housing for migrants and the homeless wherever possible. “As we did after the events of September 11, 2001 and after Hurricane Sandy, we will be united forever in this unprecedented time of crisis,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
