


Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday ramped up his criticism of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s handling of the local migrant crisis, saying she is blatantly “wrong” for not forcing other areas of the state to take asylum seekers, leaving the Big Apple to handle the crisis on its own.
“Gov. Hochul has been a partner on subway safety, on crime, on a host of things, but I think on this issue the governor is wrong,” Adams said during a fireside chat at a City Law Breakfast at New York Law School.
“She’s the governor of the state of New York. New York City is in that state. Every county in this state should be part of this.”
Hochul pushed the blame on President Biden last week in an address to the state, demanding the White House step up and take ownership of the more than 100,000 asylum seekers who have made their way to New York since last spring from the southern border.
Adams slammed Hochul, saying in a statement following her address she was “abdicating” her duty as governor to create a statewide response to the crisis and forcing other New York areas to pitch in.
New York City is currently caring for nearly 60,000 migrants, according to figures from City Hall last week, with thousands arriving each week, forcing city officials to scramble to find enough emergency housing.
“This is a real leadership moment,” Hizzoner said Tuesday morning.
“This is a humanitarian crisis of a national proportion that this [administration has] been able to manage, but the dam has it has broken, ” he warned.

The governor’s office has emphasized the state’s contributions, including deploying the National Guard and picking up the tab for mass migrant shelters at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens and Randall’s Island in Manhattan.
The latest passing of the buck came Monday when the Biden administration wiped its hands clean of the mess, saying the crisis was the creation of the city and state leadership.
In separate letters to Hochul and Adams, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas only provided vague “recommendations” from the feds.
Adams shot back, insisting that the administration address its pleas for more funding.
“New Yorkers deserve the facts, so let’s be clear: Our requests from the federal government remain the same, and quite frankly, unaddressed,” a City Hall spokesperson said Monday.
Adams again sounded the alarm for additional financial resources to handle the housing of tens of thousands of migrants.
“We are the economic engine of this state… if New York [City] goes down, the entire state goes down,” he said.
“I want to be honest with you. This keeps me up at night.”