Biden’s top aide Tom Perez meets with Adams, budget chief over NYC migrant crisis mayor fears could cost $12B
Mayor Eric Adams laid bare a slew of migrant crisis “priorities” the federal government should help tackle in a quick sit-down with one of President Biden’s top aides Thursday — the day after he warned the crippling influx of asylum seekers could cost Gotham $12 billion.
The closed-door City Hall meeting between Adams and Biden’s director of intergovernmental affairs, Tom Perez, finally unfolded amid the mayor’s repeated cries for more federal aid to help combat the surging migrant crisis.
“It was a good conversation, it was an introductory meeting. We had an opportunity to speak with him about New York’s priorities,” the mayor’s chief of staff, Camille Joseph Varlack, said in the wake of the roughly 30-minute sit-down.
“We talked about sites, we talked about decompression, we talked about legal strategies and work authorization pathways.”
The dialogue unfolded less than 24 hours after Hizzoner warned the projected cost of caring for tens of thousands of asylum seekers could potentially set the Big Apple back a staggering $12 billion.
Adams, who as recently as Thursday morning cautioned that a lack of federal aid would eventually “decimate” the city, has long begged the Biden administration for more support to cover the cost of providing shelter and social services to asylum seekers.
The feds, so far, have contributed or promised a mere $142 million.
Adams’ aide wouldn’t give specifics when asked if Perez was probed about the so-far “insufficient” influx of federal cash.
“We had conversations about how we can get additional resources to New York City writ large, on a whole host of areas, including as you know, we have approximately 20,000 children in our care,” Varlack said.
“There are different ways to get resources to New York City as we continue to manage this humanitarian crisis, and we were happy to have the opportunity to speak with him about the ways we think the federal government can help us.”
The mayor and Perez talked “very generally” about the concerns the Big Apple is facing and vowed to “continue to have these conversations,” Adams’ chief of staff added.
Earlier, Perez also sat down with the city’s Office of Management and Budget director, Jacques Jiha, as well as other members of the Department of Homeland Security team who were dispatched to inspect the Big Apple’s migrant shelter sites, a source told The Post.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Perez visited any of the roughly 200 emergency shelters, mega-relief centers and short-term respite facilities the city has set up to cater to the migrant influx.
His visit comes just days after dire scenes unfolded outside the Roosevelt Hotel — the city’s main intake center — when dozens of asylum seekers were forced to sleep on the streets after the buckling shelter system ran out of space.
Massive tents were seen being set up Thursday on Randall’s Island, which will shelter 2,000 migrant men, officials confirmed earlier this week. The island last housed a shelter in October — but the $625,000 facility shuttered within weeks over reported lack of use.
Since last spring, the city has welcomed roughly 100,000 migrants. More than half, an estimated 57,000, of recent arrivals remain in Gotham’s care, City Hall’s latest figures show.
“We are past our breaking point,” Adams warned Wednesday as he unveiled the dire figures.
“New Yorkers’ compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not. And our partners at the state and federal levels know this. We continue to face impossible decisions about allocating our resources, and that means a lose-lose for our most vulnerable New Yorkers as well as those seeking asylum.”
The city is currently spending an average of $383 per night to provide shelter, food and other care to each migrant family, Adams said.
“With more than 57,300 individuals currently in our care on an average night, it amounts to $9.8 million a day. Almost $300 million a month and nearly $3.6 billion a year,” he added.
In addition to the $142 million from the feds, Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers agreed earlier this year to pick up $1 billion of what was then an estimated $4 billion price tag.
