NEW YORK (WABC) – The number of people in New York’s shelters is setting new daily records as asylum seekers continue to arrive by busloads from Texas and elsewhere.
On Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency and issued an executive order suspending land use requirements to help the city cope with the influx of people.
Adams said he was “angry” that the city’s compassion was being “exploited by others for political gain” and that what he called a “humanitarian crisis” the mayor said was being “accelerated by the dynamics of American politics.”
WATCH our eyewitness special: Seeking asylum in New York On Friday at 1 pm here and wherever you stream ABC7 New York
There are currently 61,000 people in the shelter system, “straining our ability to care for New Yorkers in need,” Adams said. He expects the city to spend $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year
5,500 children of migrants study in city schools.
“While our compassion is limitless, our resources are not,” Adams said during a speech in City Hall’s Blue Room. “It’s unsustainable.”
Of the 61,000 people in shelters, 20,000 are children. Every fifth person is an asylum seeker.
More than 17,000 asylum seekers were bussed to New York.
Five or six buses arrive a day, sometimes more.
Nine people are expected at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Thursday, the largest number in one day, the head of the city’s Emergency Management Agency told city council members.
Eyewitness News was there when two more buses arrived Friday morning.
Administration officials told elected leaders Thursday that they are considering housing asylum seekers in large hotels and places of worship.
Earlier this weekThe deputies of the city council suggested the management to look at ten currently closed hotels.
The proposal comes after plans to create a hotel center moved from Orchard Beach to Randall’s Islanda site that can only host half as many asylum seekers, leaving the city scrambling for more space.
The administration also reached out to church and community groups for help this week, offering a one-of-a-kind “Adopt a Shelter” program in which religious leaders collect donated items for asylum seekers and distribute them.
READ ALSO | Who is the New York Rooftop Jumper? Eyewitness News uncovers the mystery behind the daredevil’s viral stunt
———-
Copyright © 2022 WABC-TV. All rights reserved.
