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.
