Gov. Kathy Hochul says she will meet with U.S. Department of the Interior officials Sunday to talk about property that can be converted to temporarily house migrants.
The move comes after state, city and federal officials earlier this week toured Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island.
“Since asylum seekers first arrived in New York, we have been providing significant humanitarian aid as New York City works to meet their legal obligation to provide shelter,” Hochul said in a statement Saturday afternoon. “We will continue our efforts to provide financial support, personnel and equipment, and continued advocacy for federal assistance.”
Hochul also announced Saturday that additional New York National Guard personnel and assets will be deployed to asylum seeker sites in Erie County.
There were two alleged sexual assault incidents involving asylum seekers in Erie County in the past week, officials said.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz requested that Mayor Eric Adams stop sending asylum seekers to the county.
In a statement Saturday, Poloncarz said Adams agreed to the request.
“I demanded that Mayor Adams pause all further transportation of asylum seekers to our community until such time as we can resolve all security issues,” Poloncarz said. “He agreed and informed me they will not send any additional persons to Erie County at this time.”
Hochul’s statement on Saturday did not address the two alleged assault incidents.
Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens and Randall’s Island, which is located along the East River, will start housing asylum seekers in the coming days, according to Hochul.
Advocates have cited various concerns over the Creedmoor and Randall’s Island sites, which both have limited access to public transportation.
Officials announced on Thursday that the city will spend $12 billion by the end of the 2025 fiscal year on housing, feeding and caring for migrants. As of Thursday, of the nearly 100,000 migrants that have arrived in the city since last spring, more than 57,000 were still in the city’s care.
Source: New York 1 News