Feds finally set to release $106M in migrant aid to NYC after months of delays
The feds are finally set to release more than $100 million in migrant aid to New York City that sat untouched for months — a delay that fueled tensions between City Hall and the Biden administration.
The $106 million in aid — the rest of a $150 million package earmarked for the Big Apple by Congress last summer — will be made available on Thursday after the Federal Emergency Management Agency formally signs off on City Hall’s reimbursement applications, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office.
“I worked hard with NYC and FEMA to deliver these funds,” Schumer (D-NY) said on social media. “Now Republicans must stop blocking the strong, bipartisan border bill, which can deliver more.”
The senator, who worked as a liaison between the city and the feds, arranged for FEMA to send a team to the Big Apple to assist the Adams administration with grant paperwork and applications to raise the cap on hotel reimbursements to 15%.
The previous limit only allowed for 10% of total aid to be used on housing migrants in hotels.
“Today, FEMA notified New York City that it had approved their budget for over $106 million awarded through the Shelter and Services Program, making this funding available for their use,” a Biden administration official told The Post.
“We are pleased that after accepting technical assistance from FEMA, New York City was able to submit the required paperwork to make the funds available.”
City Hall said the check wasn’t in the mail just yet.
“After the city submitted additional paperwork last week, the federal government has indicated that they will remove the hold on these previously allocated funds, giving us the ability to finally submit reimbursements for the up to $107 million,” mayoral spokesperson Charles Lutvak said.
“We appreciate the productive collaboration of our federal partners and will continue to work closely with them so money can be released.”
The untouched aid came to light over the last few weeks after Mayor Eric Adams’ budget guru revealed during a City Council hearing that New York had been able to recoup only $49 million of the aid months after it was earmarked.
“The requirements are so stringent, that it is very difficult for us to do so, but we’re working to collect the remaining $107 million,” city budget director Jacques Jiha testified on March 4.
Fed sources later told The Post that City Hall hadn’t managed to file the proper paperwork — something against which Adams vehemently pushed back.
Adams slammed the notion that City Hall was to blame for the delay, and criticized the Biden administration for only getting $150 million in aid to the city to deal with a crisis that is projected to cost roughly $10 billion through the next fiscal year.
“Even if we had gotten a whole $150 million, we have a $4 billion price tag,” the mayor said last week during a press conference.
Additional reporting by Diana Glebova
