What you should know
- Over the weekend, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced several measures to strengthen the finances of the city that is under economic pressure due to the costs of covering the immigration crisis.
- The city estimates that this growing crisis will cost taxpayers $12 billion over three fiscal years, an amount that will continue to grow without federal and state intervention and support.
- Mayor Adams ordered all agencies to implement a 5% reduction in spending funded by the city in each year of the financial plan through the Program to Close the Gap (PEG) as part of the upcoming November plan, preliminary budget and executive budget. .
NEW YORK — Over the weekend, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced several measures to shore up the city’s finances, which are under economic pressure from covering most of the humanitarian costs crisis of asylum seekers. This is at a time when income growth is slowing and the COVID-19 stimulus funds are about to expire.
Since the beginning of the asylum seeker crisis, New York City has opened more than 200 emergency shelters for more than 110,000 immigrants who arrived in the five boroughs seeking refuge.
This comes as approximately 10,000 asylum seekers still arrive every month and the city estimates that this growing crisis will cost taxpayers $12 billion over three fiscal years, an amount that will continue to grow without’ y federal and state intervention and support. In an effort to maintain the city’s fiscal stability, the Adams administration sought to reduce housing and other costs by moving migrants from the shelter system and humanitarian aid and emergency response centers to more affordable ones. residences. , in addition to looking closely at other ways to reduce the cost of caring for asylum seekers.
As a measure, the mayor on Saturday ordered all agencies to implement a 5% reduction in the expenditure funded by the city in each year of the financial plan through the Program to Close the Gap (PEG) as part of the upcoming plan in November. , preliminary budget and executive budget. The administration will try to minimize disruption to programs and services and there will be no layoffs.
“At the moment, we ask all our agencies to submit a plan to reduce the expenditure financed by the city every year in our financial plan, but the die is not yet. and state, we can avoid these reductions funding. We need Washington and Albany to finally do their part by paying their fair share and creating a decompression strategy that will reduce the pressure on New York City, so we are not forced to manage this crisis virtually. alone,” said Mayor Eric Adams.
The administration will also take additional measures to control spending and promote budget savings that will be announced in the near future. However, Mayor Adams made it clear that these costs will affect all city services.
“Since the massive influx of asylum seekers into our city began last spring, we are warning New Yorkers that all services in the city may be affected by this crisis if we do not receive the support we It’s necessary. Add the costs of a national crisis that have fallen on New York City with reduced COVID-19 funds and slow revenue growth, and our city’s financial future could be at risk if we don’t act.” added Mayor Adams. “Our city continues to receive approximately 10,000 asylum seekers every month and, as we established last month, we expect to spend $ 12 billion until the end of the fiscal year 2025 when conditions will not change. While our compassion is infinite, our resources are not.”
Last month, Mayor Adams released an updated forecast of asylum-seeker costs, showing that the asylum-seeker population is growing faster than previously expected and that, without additional state and federal support, the crisis will cost the city more than $ 12 billion in three. fiscal years. This figure represents nearly triple the city’s previous estimate of $3.9 billion over two fiscal years, which was funded by the city’s financial plan. This means that without additional state and federal support, the city will need to add another $7 billion to the financial plan this year and next to meet rapidly expanding needs.
If Albany and Washington, DC provide significant and timely financial support and reduce pressure on New York City, and if the city recognizes better than expected revenue, the Adams administration will reconsider also the need for significant cuts in city-funded spending.
