New York City is at its “breaking point” as a record influx of migrants continues to flow into the city that never sleeps, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday.
The surge led Adams to submit an emergency aid request to the state for extra help to provide shelter for the migrants over the weekend as the city faces an immediate need for “additional capacity.” His request comes after the city received more than 3,100 asylum-seekers in the past week alone.
ERIC ADAMS ACCUSES DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION OF LEAVING CITY IN ‘DISARRAY’
“We are at our breaking point,” Adams said in a statement.
“Our initial request is for shelter to accommodate 500 asylum seekers, but, as New York City continues to see numbers balloon, this estimate will increase as well,” the statement continued.
We’re now seeing more asylum seekers arrive than ever before. Last week we averaged over 400 people per day, with 835 asylum seekers arriving on one single day alone. This is pushing New York City to the brink.
My full statement: https://t.co/laXu8O9JXj
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 13, 2023
The influx wasn’t a surprise, as Adams recalled a speech he gave several months before about the crisis, which he said strained the city and overwhelmed the shelter system.
“We are now seeing more people arrive than we have ever seen — averaging over 400 people each day this last week, with 835 asylum seekers arriving on one single day alone, the largest single-day arrival we’ve seen to date,” he said Friday.
“On that day, I said we would surpass the highest number of people in recorded history in our city’s shelter system and that every day after we would set a new record. … All this is pushing New York City to the brink,” the mayor added.
New York City has opened more than 70 emergency shelters and four humanitarian relief centers since last spring in an effort to house almost 40,000 asylum-seekers.
“The absence of sorely-needed federal immigration reform should not mean that this humanitarian crisis falls only on the shoulders of cities,” Adams said.
“We need support and aid from our federal and state partners and look forward to working together to meet this crisis head-on,” he pleaded.
The Big Apple mayor is heading to El Paso, Texas, this weekend to witness the southern border crisis firsthand, according to reports.
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The trip comes as Adams revealed the economic hit to his city could be “anywhere from $1.5 to $2 billion.”
