Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand held a Central Park event Tuesday to tout $20 million in federal funding to plant more trees — but danced around questions about more desperately needed migrant aid for the city.
The junior Democratic senator from New York instead tried to downplay New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ warning that the migrant crisis would cost the Big Apple about $12 billion over three years.
“I don’t know what the cost will be, I don’t think $12 billion is the precise projection. I don’t think that’s an accurate projection, but that’s not the relevant issue,” Gillibrand, 56, said when pressed by The Post about the city’s spiraling costs to deal with the migrant deluge.
“Senator Schumer and I went to bat to get $800 million [for cities including New York] … to help migrant crisis-related issues. New York [City] got $140 million of that,” she said.
Adams has warned that every city agency will have to sustain budget cuts of up to 15% by spring to close a projected budget gap fueled by the migrant crisis if more federal and state aid isn’t forthcoming.
But instead of appearing to feel the city’s pain, Gillibrand pivoted to a lengthy broadside that blamed lawmakers on the other side of the aisle for stonewalling immigration reform legislation and failing to expedite work visas for asylum seekers.
Her press conference, called to boast about the tree funding, left a Democratic source at City Hall pining for the senator to spruce up her priorities.
“Whoever told Kirsten Gillibrand to make a rare pit stop to the Big Apple and talk trees during a migrant crisis deserves some serious shade,” the flabbergasted source told The Post.
Gillibrand, in her rant against the GOP, said, “There are many solutions in there, all of which need strong Republican allies in the House.
“If they’re unwilling to change the laws, we’re stuck with the laws we have. We need to fix the system — more judges and more lawyers so the system is actually timely because it is not timely right now,” she said.
“These folks need help applying for asylum on Day One so the clock starts ticking so they can start working. They all want to be working, our city and our state would benefit greatly if they were working, the industries desperate for workers would benefit greatly if they were working, and if they were working, they can pay for their own housing and their own food,” she continued.
“So yes, to your question, I will be calling on more resources to come, but again, let’s also fix our immigration laws. It’s been a long time since we had comprehensive reform even debated.”
Adams and Gov Kathy Hochul have demanded that their fellow Democrats in the Biden administration refund city taxpayers for the roughly $10 million a day it has cost to provide services to the more than 110,000 migrants that have been bused to the city from the southern border since spring 2022.
Gillibrand did take the opportunity to join the growing chorus of Senate Democrats who are calling on their colleague, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, to resign as he battles bribery, fraud and corruption charges that could put him in prison for 45 years.
“The American people deserve a government they can trust,” she said. “They deserve not to question if their elected leaders are working for the people or themselves. In light of that lack of trust, I share [New Jersey] Senator [Cory] Booker’s views that he should step down.”
If Menendez does resign, the seat would stay on the left side of the aisle as Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy would be tasked with appointing his replacement.
Menendez has denied the raps.