Mayor Eric Adam initiated The Big Apple Connect program in the year 2022 to aid migrants entering the city. The program has welcomed 90 migrants per day on average. The Big Apple program has driven up city spending and compelled Mayor Eric Adams to cut the budgets of other organizations.
According to an estimate provided by the city’s Office of Management and Budget on March 29 in a request for further assistance from DC to the Biden administration, 32,000 migrants are now residing in taxpayer-funded housing.
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The city “cannot shoulder an ongoing massive and unexpected burden on its own without substantial risk to its financial stability,” OMB Director Jacques Jiha cautioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Office of Response and Recovery (ORR).
Jiha requested ORR assistant administrator Melissa Forbes for the whole $350 million in its migrant aid fund – plus an additional $300 million – to close the $654 million shortfall experienced by the city on housing and providing services to migrants from July 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023.
However, if Jiha’s estimate that the cost will increase to $1.4 billion by June 30 and $4.3 billion by the end of 2024 is accurate, that sum would just be a down payment.
After this first $1 billion proposal, Gotham has only so far gotten a pitiful $8 million in government support.
The Emergency Food and Shelter Program will get $350 million from the Department of Homeland Security, as revealed on February 28. This funding will “help local communities around the country better manage the costs of noncitizen arrivals,” according to the announcement.
The $350 million will be distributed by May 31 according to a statement from a FEMA representative.
As of yet, the Biden administration has not indicated that it would provide more financing, and Gov. Hochul’s proposed state budget included a commitment to provide $1 billion in migrant help over two years, which is only a small portion of Jiha’s expected expenditures.
According to Andrew Rein, head of the economically prudent Citizens Budget Commission, “New Yorkers have to realize that this is a significant budget hit.”
The city’s four-decade-old “right to shelter” regulation, which mandates that officials must give a bed in a suitable facility to every homeless New Yorker, was cited as a contributing factor, especially as there is no time restriction for how long someone may reside.
Rein added, “Our non-migrant shelter population has been staying longer in shelters over time.” He continued, “Now, migrants are going to have great difficulty working and that will increase their time in
Additionally, the recession is now costing the city about $383 per night per household, which includes families with children, adult couples, and migrant workers living alone. This is an upsurge of $20 per diem from the previous estimate made by city Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol, which came to a total of about $4.6 million per day.
