New York City’s “sanctuary” status is crumbling under pressure as thousands of migrants pour into the metropolis. This is but a small fraction of what border states face, but it’s enough to send Democratic Mayor Eric Adams scrambling.
Addressing criticism Wednesday over his handling of the illegal migrant situation, Adams laid out startling and disputed numbers. At a Harlem media briefing, he said the city has run out of places to put people.
Specifically, “almost half of all hotel rooms are taken up by asylum seekers.”
Adams touted the city as the “hotel capital,” attracting everything from tourists and sporting events to graduations. That “economic engine” is now sputtering, he claimed, because nearly half of rooms “are being taken up by migrant asylum seekers.”
The mayor added Wednesday that Washington needs to declare a state of emergency for the city. He said the estimated $4.3 billion price tag for caring for migrants does not include lost revenue from hotels basically serving as homeless facilities.
You don't say…….
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Complains That 50% of City’s Hotel Rooms Now Occupied by Illegal Migrants – Hurting the Economyhttps://t.co/fEPVolLC8K
— Constitutionalist 💯 🇺🇲 (@Kc_Casey1) May 18, 2023
Even critics within his own party blasted his declaration. City Councilwoman Diana Ayala said that having almost half of the Big Apple’s hotel space occupied by migrants “would be impossible. The math doesn’t add up.”
There are approximately 130,000 hotel rooms in New York City. Estimates reported by CNN are that the number of illegal migrants currently in the city is approximately 37,500. Officials believe some 65,000 asylum seekers have come to the city, but many left.
In other words, the estimates hardly come close to Adams’ figure of nearly 50% of the city’s occupancy being consumed by migrants.
The city’s unions play a big part in proving the fallacy of the mayor’s numbers. Roughly 70% of the city’s hotel rooms are in hotels with unionized workers. Citywide there are only 3,500 migrants being housed in union-staffed hotels.
Furthermore, large numbers of migrants are being accommodated in homeless shelters, emergency relief shelters, and even public school facilities.
A spokesman for the Hotel Association of New York City revealed that hotel occupancy rates for March 2023 hit 79%, up from 70% in March 2022.
When Adams made his claims at the Harlem news conference, a reporter asked spokesman Fabien Levy for a precise number. This was a chance to support his boss’ assertion that almost half of the city’s rooms were taken up by migrants.
Levy simply replied, “I don’t know,” and did not respond to follow-up questions.
You don't say…….
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Complains That 50% of City’s Hotel Rooms Now Occupied by Illegal Migrants – Hurting the Economyhttps://t.co/fEPVolLC8K
— Constitutionalist 💯 🇺🇲 (@Kc_Casey1) May 18, 2023
