Monday, August 28, 2023
Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 76 degrees.
Notices
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Update: 3:45 p.m.: After publishing the below request for federal assistance with the ongoing migrant crisis, WSR received a news release from the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, linking to an “Open Letter to the President & Congressional Leaders from Concerned Business Leaders Regarding the Asylum-Seekers Humanitarian Crisis.” Signed by 114 top NYC business leaders, the letter begins, “We write to support the request made by New York Governor Hochul for federal funding for educational, housing, security, and health care services to offset the costs that local and state governments are incurring with limited federal aid.” They also ask for expedited work permits for migrants. You can read their entire letter here. The Rag’s story follows.
Questions
By Carol Tannenhauser
Though it’s complicated, I am proud of New York City’s characteristic response to the migrant crisis. Since June, 2022, we have taken in more than 100,000 people; sheltered and fed them; collected clothing, necessities, and toys for them; provided social services; and enrolled their children in school. Yes, there were setbacks and screwups. And, yes, we complained and bickered among ourselves, but we did it — with little help from the federal government.
Why, I wonder, when the city has already spent $5 billion on the migrant crisis and expects that to reach $12 billion over the next three years, has the federal government given us only $145 million, according to The New York Times? Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote politely in a letter to President Biden that, “while the state appreciates the $145 million contribution…this allotment of funds is insufficient.”
Why did it take “many, many, many months,” according to the governor in Gothamist, for the feds to “tentatively” agree to let the state use Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, which is administered by the National Park Service, to erect a 1,000-bed tent facility for migrants? This after the city has come up with countless places to shelter them, including two recently opened tent cities, one provided by the state.
Why has no one from the federal government expressed, if not gratitude, support and admiration for the city’s response to a situation created at the federal level, which we are helping mightily to mitigate? How about a shout out?
Better yet, can you spare a billion?
Next Monday is Labor Day. Barring any unforeseen contingencies that frequently arise, West Side Rag is planning to take the day off.
See you in September!
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We declared that we are a sanctuary city with a right to shelter. Texas didn’t, Florida didn’t. And there isn’t a lot of incentive for Biden here. He knows that the Democratic candidate for president could be an animated cartoon character. And It would win New York
That declaration is over 30 years old. Rudy endorsed and defended it.
The current issue is the “right to shelter” settlement of a class action that still binds the city.
But it didn’t bind the city just a while ago? We didn’t have free housing for migrants before.
the Right to Shelter Settlement with the court was agreed to in 1981.
How can we get out from under this sanctuary city status?
Exactly. That’s what we should be focusing on. Besides enforcing the border security.
Federal government should not give anyone money for this. The city can raise property tax’s without state approval just double these tax’s and there will be enough money to house the migrants for the rest of their lives
People who own co-op or condo apartments also pay property tax. as well as mortgage payments and monthly maintenance fees. If there are any more costs, many of these people will “go under”. Will they then be eligible fro free housing just like the migrants?
If the tax’s property is razed, that seems like it would just create bigger problems.
Excellent solution. Land owners have plenty of money, can always borrow more, and make a law forbidding rental increases of more than 2% a year.
The Federal Government is not going to send money to NYC. Nobody told Adams to spend 10k per month per migrant. They spend $390.00 each on hotels. I have had a job every day since I was 14 and I’m pushing 60. I have a good paying job. I have NEVER stayed in a $390.00 hotel room.
The people who told Adams to spend $390/night on hotels were the political cronies who stand to benefit immensely from taxpayer-funded largesse.
In a larger sense, immigration is the problem that no one in either party wants to solve. Both Conservatives and Progressives find ways to benefit from unchecked illegal migration–whether it’s the vendors getting no-bid contracts, the hotels/landlords with guaranteed revenue streams, the employers in need of cheap labor, or the asinine politicians with a political bone to bandy about. There’s something for everyone.
And all the while, quality of life for the average citizen is degraded, with the tax burden ever-increasing.
No thinking person in his/her/their right mind should be proud of NYC’s faux-righteous, morally masochistic response to illegal migration.
Hochul should be asking Biden about wide open borders. The policies are obviously unsustainable but Albany doesn’t dare questioning them.
It’s about time a Democrat starts questioning our policy of looking the other way on illegal immigration. Hochul would win a lot of support if she did this. The country as a whole does not support open borders (nor does any Democrat I know).
I wish people would stop with the knowledge based on talking points. Do you know why the people in question are referred to as MIGRANTS and not ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS (or ALIENS)? Many say the distinction has to do with wokism, or political correctness, or some other “liberal” speak. It has nothing to do with any of that – it has to do with being factually correct. These migrants are actually seeking asylum, and are LEGALLY in the country at this time. These are people who have turned themselves in to ICE and requested asylum. So they are here legally. When their legal request for asylum plays out, they will either be granted a green card and be a permanent legal resident or be denied and be deported. Debate on ideas is important in our society, but a good debate requires both sides to have and use correct information – facts. If either side does not, it is not a worthwhile debate. And facts don’t come from twitter or Facebook.
That is not true. Had they really been seeking asylum, they would have applied for asylum in Mexico, a country where tens of thousands of American citizens are currently living in.
Might WSR have any information as to why some migrants (residents at Stratford Arms) are apparently permitted to operate a sidewalk hair-cutting business on 70th and Broadway?
Seems to me that if we taxpayers are paying for free shelter plus other free services then it is not unreasonable to expect individuals to respect the community, adhere to laws…..?
We complain if they don’t work and we complain if they do.
Meanwhile in Arkansas and Iowa the debate is how late can we let 14 year old kids work and can they wait tables (notorious for six harassment) and work in factories.
They need federally issued work permits.
That way they can go where the suitable jobs are.
Typical NYC. NYC supports open borders and migrants until they show up. Then NYC wants them to go elsewhere. SMH
NYC wants them to be able to work legally and on the books.
Beautiful photo!
Asking for a Federal handouts is not a solution, it is a temporary relief that will quickly increase the number of migrants. It is a bottomless pit.
The solution lies at the border. Federal asylum and border crossing policies need to be enforced.
The solution lies at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, D.c. 20500.
Just a few weeks ago the locals were decrying “cruel Texas” blaming it for sending migrants to New York. Adams arranged for buses from El Paso to come here and touted NYC sanctuary status. Now we are surprised at this mess?
The mere fact that we have to support these migrants is a slap in the face to us, first generation immigrants. Some of us were also asylum seekers. The sanctuary city status was in place, but nobody was housed and fed for free. You have to ask yourselves – why now, what changed?
“ Adams arranged for buses from El Paso to come here and touted NYC sanctuary status.” Can you back up this assertion? All I have heard of was Adams requesting coordination of the busing to stop the buses from arriving unannounced and just dropping hundreds of migrants on the street. I’d love to see some evidence that Adams arranged to bring migrants here that weren’t already coming.
That’s what my wife and myself are trying to figure out – what changed to the point we have to provide free housing, medical care, food and even laundry services to these migrants?
Quite a few of my wife’s friends are asylum seekers who came here in early 90s. New York already had sanctuary city status then. Yet they didn’t rely on government housing and services. They had to rely only on friends, relatives and charities. Most of them if not all had college degrees but were doing all sorts of jobs like babysitting, cleaning, etc. Eventually they found professional jobs but it took a while.
We still can’t understand why the asylees weren’t granted anything at the taxpayer’s expense back then, but are getting better benefits than most residents now?
It is a wonder since Adam’s is duty bound to not spend on this beyond budget constraints unlike the federal government and that IS part of the wording around this. Nicole Gelinas does an excellent job explaining this in an editorial in the NY POST
https://nypost.com/2023/08/27/new-york-citys-got-it-all-wrong-with-its-right-to-shelter/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp&utm_source=pasteboard_app
Thank you. So right to shelter definition is shaky if I understood it correctly.
My question is different though, with the very same right to shelter in place years and decades ago asylees weren’t housed for free. Why did it become the city obligation now? According to whom we have to provide free housing the asylum seekers and why didn’t we have to do it before?
I can’t even imagine how the schools situation is going to play out. We have another 20 000 migrant kids who obviously need to go to school. We don’t have enough seats for our local children. Everyone I know has been struggling finding a seat for their child. Yet we miraculously are going to find 20000 of them in a matter of weeks? At whose expense? Our schools are struggling with overcrowding and low standards as it is.
I appreciate if WSR can write an article about that
Proud of the city response to the migrant crisis ? Proud of what exactly – that we bought in the “compassion” ideology for no reason whatsoever? For diverting the city funds from the actual needs?
The author is proud. I’m not. I feel dupped and used.
Dear Residents of New York City,
Thank you for your generous hospitality for the thousands of illegal migrants we’ve sent your way. Unfortunately, until President Zelensky wins his war against Russia and we can locate some extra billions to send to you, that we are presently sending him, my sincere thanks will have to do for now. Keep up the great work!
The White House
Most Ukraine aid is in the form of excess military equipment so it makes no sense to conflate with spending for asylum seekers.
If Ukraine falls, Poland is next, and then all of Eastern Europe, and then Europe. Tat’s what happens. So, maybe the root of the problem are dictators, like those in South America and Russia. Get rid of them, and problem solved.
It sounds as if you describing what our government told us back in the 60’s to justify the sacrifice of 55,000 American soldiers – the “domino effect,” whereby all of SE Asia would become a communist block if we lost in Viet Nam. With the exception of Laos and Cambodia, not such domino effect occurred in the war’s aftermath and would not occur in Europe today as well.
Poland is in NATO. Let’s stop fear mongering and focus on our domestic issues.
Unless we make our voices known at the ballot box, the same destructive policies ruining, destroying and bankrupting our city will perpetuate. And to think, even with a change in leadership, we are only halfway through what is going on – so double the 110,000-plus migrants here. Scary.
Not sure why our governor/mayor can’t simply say NO – right now.
Because nobody is asking him to? Because he doesn’t want to upset Albany and White House?
Simply say no like Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas. They have been saying NO for 40 years.
Those states have had to deal with millions of migrants. But the richest, ‘greatest ‘ city in the world can’t handle 100,000?
100,000 getting free stuff from the rest of us is the problem.
Check with the Border States to see what amount they are still waiting for…….
What a coincidence that schools were about to lose funding because the schools were emptying and suddenly 20,000 children show up. 🧐
If the schools are emptying then why are there so many posts from parents stating that they’re having trouble getting placements for their own kids?
Failing schools, primarily in Harlem, Morningside, Manhattan Valley are lacking enrollment because they are …failing. Low standards and behavioral issues are plugging these schools. Parents who live in these neighborhoods prefer to send their kids to the charter schools that are at capacity.
Decent schools on the other hand are overcrowded because there are so few of them. Most schools in our district have long waiting lists. My child was on the wait list for both primary and middle schools. Last year the class sizes went from 25 to 35 students because of the migrant population. That tremendously brought down the standards and quality in just a few months.
So our kids were on the waiting lists for these schools but DOE and mayor didn’t think twice to overload the schools the minute migrants showed up.
I’m bracing myself to see what new academic year brings. 20000 students with no English language and overall poor academic preparation have to be accommodated and there’s no plan for iT
Thank you for the in-depth reply. I really appreciate it. I remember a piece the WSR did on winter-clothing donations for immigrant children last year, but I don’t recall a follow up on how things progressed once they were actually in the classrooms. With school starting in less than two weeks it doesn’t seem like there is any easy solution, but I hope things will improve for everyone in the near future.
Because everyone wants to send their kids to certain public schools.
Bravissima, Carol! A well written, cogent cry for help. And so crucial that you remind all that it was Donald Trump who got us into thjis situatiion. Let the GOP cough up some bucks. Ha!
This has been going on for many,many years under both parties. NYC didn’t care because Texas ,Arizona, and New Mexico had to deal with it.
Understood that border states were unfairly carrying the burden for all of us. Still don’t understand why we are paying for free housing now. Apparently migrants would have come before had we provided free housing. So why we started providing it just now despite long- existing sanctuary city status?
Matt,
Per 1980s lawsuits (Callahan, McCain) , the City is obligated to provide shelter to any “homeless” person whether they are from out of state, or even out of the country. (The lawsuits did not envision the current situation).
That is why the City is providing free. shelter/hotel housing.
Lin , what about let’s say 3 years ago? There were no migrants in NYC shelters despite many migrant crossings. Migrants worked illegally and paid for their own housing.
Jen: Here is a 2022 CNN article about misinformation being messaged to migrants. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/politics/human-smuggling-misinformation/index.html
Thank you, Lisa. I wouldn’t say it is complete misinformation since they are housed and fed for free on UWS no less.
My question is still unanswered – why our city decided to house them for free NOW? Sanctuary city status has been in place for decades, migrants/asylum seekers from the same countries have been coming for decades as well, but we didn’t provide all these freebies till recently. So why are we doing it now?
Jen: There have been migrants in the NYC shelter system.
I’ve worked with a number of families for years pre-Covid.
A big difference now is the huge number who crossed the border seeking “asylum” + bused to NYC and also people flying in knowing about NYC shelter. There has been messaging on social media especially TikTok by traffickers saying there are jobs, free housing etc.
Didn’t Trump do exactly the opposite? And people were protesting it?
Yes. It was called racist.
I had to re-read this comment. Isn’t it called disinformation nowadays? Or it is misinformation? In any case, I’m being sarcastic, I’m not against different views being published, but against censorship.
I thought the entire thing to let everyone through the border unvetted was the current administration’s attempt to show that they are not like Trump.
Yes. Exactly. And when Texas offered to send them here they happily came to NYC.
Regarding the update – this is a very good start if WH is listening.
I understand that speedy issuance of work permits is a problem with many because they jumped the line. However if we issue restricted work permits that let you work only at certain places and certain type of jobs, it becomes win-win. If someone is a true asylum seeker, they will be happy to have this opportunity and we fill much needed job vacancies outside of the cities. Those who don’t like this arrangement will leave.
What I don’t understand is this: it seems to be that the black population could use some economic help. Having decent jobs make a huge difference. So why are we bringing in people who are going to put downward pressure on wages and take jobs? I have nothing against immigrants, being 2nd generation myself, but how on earth is bringing all these people in to compete for jobs helping us? And don’t tell me about how there are jobs people don’t want to do – anybody will do any job if the price is right. This just makes no sense.
Because the Feds helping means the Biden administration has to admit there’s a problem ….. which they refuse to do.
I find the lightheartedness of this article upsetting. Nothing should be taken lightly with this crisis. The ridiculousness of this city and how it KNOWS this is a complete farce. Our budget is gone for all the things we need and we are being taken advantage of every day. We are complete fools and our governor and mayor and city council are the top fools to blame. This city is so delusional now that we deserve to be bankrupt which is where we are heading. We all know this “right to shelter” should have been challenged years ago when it was being taken advantage of by out of town drug-addicted people who want to live free and the way they want. I’m not proud of the city’s response, I am embarrassed by it, as the entire country is laughing at us and rightly so. And I did not vote for any of the people allowing this ruining of our this once beautiful city.
Day to day life in NYC keeps getting worse: harder, more depressing, and more expensive – higher bus and subway fare, avoiding getting hit by bicyclists, DOE school issues, trash and rats all over, restaurant shacks, housing costs, loss of neighborhood stores, gentrification etc.
But somehow we are expected to pay more for less – and also be supportive of paying for people who just came here?
This is just the beginning. The city has no plan. What happens when another 250,000 arrive?