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NYC Department of Homeless Services Seeks Hotel Contracts to Shelter Migrants Through 2025

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The New York City Department of Homeless Services is seeking to secure contracts with local hotels to provide approximately 14,000 rooms to shelter migrants through 2025, according to a report from the New York Post. New York has been suffering from the financial burden of housing a surge of migrants, with costs expected to surpass $2.3 billion over the past two years and the current fiscal year, much of which has been allocated to hotel rent.

The city has been housing migrants in hotels across the five boroughs as part of its response to the influx of over 200,000 asylum seekers since the spring of 2022. These migrants have overwhelmed the city’s shelter system, leading officials to seek alternatives to provide temporary housing. The plan to shelter migrants in hotels has been one of the most significant expenses in the city’s migrant response strategy.

Spending on services for migrants is projected to reach $5.76 billion over the next three years, with around 150 hotels currently serving as temporary housing for asylum seekers. The average cost per room is estimated to be $352 per night, according to the New York Post report.

Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, expressed concern over the long-term sustainability of this approach, telling the Post, “The taxpayers can’t pay for this indefinitely. We should stop using hotels as shelters by the end of the year.”

The crisis is complicated by New York City’s “right-to-shelter” laws, which were not designed to accommodate large-scale migrant populations. These laws ensure that anyone in need of shelter in the city is entitled to it, but Adams has repeatedly stated that the laws were never intended to cover migrant populations of this magnitude.

Additionally, New York City’s sanctuary laws restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Despite attempts by some moderate lawmakers to roll back these policies in response to incidents involving illegal migrants, the City Council has largely maintained the sanctuary provisions.

Mayor Adams has been a vocal critic of the lack of federal support for dealing with the influx of migrants and has repeatedly called for more aid from the federal government.

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Economy

Kamala Harris Admits ‘American Dream’ Not Something We Can Count on ‘Much Anymore’

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Biden Kamala

Even presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris admitted that the American Dream has not been an easy feat under her administration with President Biden.

“I’m speaking with people of every background, in every area of the country, of every age, and you know, the idea of the American Dream was something that previous generations could count on. Not as much anymore,” Harris said in a Tuesday evening interview with NBC News NOW host Hallie Jackson.

During the sit-down, Jackson pointed out that the top issue for “so many voters” throughout the 2024 campaign trail has been the cost of living in the U.S. economy. She also cited an NBC News poll that found more voters think the Biden-Harris record has hurt them, rather than helped them.

“And I wonder, are the last four years an obstacle to you in this race?”

“First of all, let me be very clear: Mine will not be a continuation of the Biden administration,” Harris responded. “I bring my own experiences, my own ideas to it, and it has informed a number of my areas of focus, most of which are, on to your point, lowering costs.”

“I have been traveling the country. I am very clear, costs of groceries is still too high. The voters know it, I know it,” the vice president continued. “So part of my plan includes what we need to do to bring down the price of groceries, including the work I will do dealing with price gouging, something I dealt with when I was attorney general, something I will deal with going forward.”

In August, Harris’ campaign released a document saying that if she’s elected, her administration would work with Congress to “advance the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries; set clear rules of the road to make clear that big corporations can’t unfairly exploit consumers to run up excessive profits on food and groceries.”

The National Grocers Association (NGA), which represents independent grocers that are privately owned by families or by employees as well as wholesalers in that segment, has called for the law’s use to address pricing competition in the industry. Chris Jones, NGA’s chief government relations officer and counsel, previously told FOX Business that pricing from suppliers is one of the biggest issues the group’s members face in competing with larger rivals.

However, Fox Business notes that when asked about her economic plans last week by Fox News’ Bret Baier, Harris did not mention her price-gouging proposal.

“My plans for the economy will strengthen the economy, as have been reviewed by 16 Nobel laureates, Goldman Sachs, Moody’s and recently The Wall Street Journal, which have all studied our plans and have indicated my plans for our economy would strengthen our economy,” Harris said on “Special Report.” “[Trump’s] would make them weaker, would ignite inflation and invite a recession by the middle of next year. Those are the facts.”

Nonpartisan findings from the Penn Wharton Budget Model have estimated that Harris’ fiscal policies might add $1.2 trillion to the deficit over 10 years, while former President Trump’s economic platform could add $4.1 trillion in the same time frame, adds Fox Business.

 

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