Hochul: State won't force counties to accept migrants; Adams earlier had sought shelters on LI, elsewhere

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday the state would not force counties outside of New York City to accept migrants, essentially throwing cold water on Mayor Eric Adams’ request that she order communities on Long Island and elsewhere to provide shelter.

Earlier Thursday, Newsday reported the Adams administration filed a letter in relation to a court proceeding, saying Hochul should issue an executive order to “preempt attempts by certain localities to stymie the city’s efforts to place new arrivals in accommodations outside the city."

Further, the Adams administration suggested specific state-run facilities for sheltering, including Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base on Moen Street in Westhampton Beach; Pilgrim Psychiatric Center on Crooked Hill Road in Brentwood; and the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center in Nissequogue River State Park.

Hochul didn’t address Adams’ request specifically, but she said a 1981 consent decree that established a right-to-shelter mandate in New York City cannot be imposed on New York’s 57 other counties.

“Which is one of the reasons we cannot, and will not, force other parts of our state to shelter migrants. Nor are we going to be asking these migrants to move to other parts of the state against their will,” the governor said in a briefing at the state Capitol.

Instead, the state will seek, as it has done previously, to work with communities outside the city that are open to receive migrants.

“That said, I do believe we have a moral imperative to help these new arrivals,” the governor said. “I’m grateful to the counties that have welcomed and supported the migrants, and we’ll continue to partner with them. But to level with New Yorkers, barring much-needed changes at the border, there does not appear to be a solution to this federal problem any time soon.”

Hochul releases letter to Biden administration 

Turning to Washington, Hochul released a letter she sent to the Biden administration asking it to quickly amend rules to allow migrants to receive work authorizations sooner than the current minimum 180 days mandated by federal law — a request made by a number of Democratic governors.

She also asked Washington to reimburse states for the cost of deploying state National Guard personnel at shelters and to use more federal facilities to construct new temporary shelters.

"This crisis originated with the federal government and it must be resolved through the federal government," Hochul said. "The borders and decisions about who can work are solely determined by the federal government."

In New York, more than 100,000 migrants have arrived over roughly the last 18 months, forcing leaders to deal with sheltering and housing issues.

Other Democratic-led states — such as California, Illinois and Massachusetts — are dealing with similar issues with no more apparent success than New York. Some of the influx, but not most of it, is tied to governors from Republican-led states, such as Texas and Florida, shipping migrants to Democratic states, in protest of the Biden administration's immigration policies. 

So far, New York City, with a population of 8.8 million, has provided shelter, food and care to about 59,000 of the immigrants who have come to the state, according to figures released Wednesday by the Adams administration. Most of the migrants are from Latin America and West Africa.

'Right-to-shelter' mandate in court

At the same time, the city is in court requesting to partially suspend its decades-old, unique-in-the-nation "right-to-shelter" mandate. Some activists have argued that under a 1938 state constitutional provision that forms the basis for right-to-shelter — covering "aid, care and support of the needy" — the mandate applies statewide.

That's triggered a back-and-forth with the state. Last week, a lawyer for Hochul chastised the Adams administration, saying the city has failed to properly respond to the crisis and coordinate care for the immigrants.

In turn, in the latest letter, filed at an Aug. 22 filing in state court in Manhattan, the city criticized the state for not giving enough cash, resources and coordination to help the city handle the crisis. The city also is seeking shelters on Long Island and elsewhere.

"The City requests the use of" nearly two-dozen other state-owned sites — from the East End of Long Island to Flushing up to Buffalo — where the administration hopes to place migrants, according to the letter sent by a city lawyer. The sites also include the Javits Center in Manhattan, Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, State University of New York dorms and vacant prisons upstate.

The city’s letter also requests that the state block the kinds of relocation bans enacted by over 30 jurisdictions around the state — such as Suffolk and Riverhead.

“The City also wishes to reiterate the importance of issuing a State Executive Order to preempt attempts by certain localities to stymie the City’s efforts to place New Arrivals in accommodations outside the City through local executive orders or litigation,” the letter said.

On Long Island, an executive order signed May 26 by Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone forbids county hotels, motels and shelters from contracting with the city to accept relocated migrants, absent county approval.

Bellone’s office did not return a message seeking comment Thursday.

Kings Park was closed in 1996, with patients transferred to Pilgrim. The hospitals once held tens of thousands of patients. Gabreski is home to the 106th rescue wing.

Earlier this month, tent dorms opened near the Queens-Nassau border in a parking lot at the state-owned Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village. There is capacity for about 1,000, and as of Wednesday, about 800 adults were living there, Dr. Ted Long, a city official helping oversee the crisis response, said Wednesday.

Some Long Island politicians have vehemently opposed any relocations, but there also have been counter-protests.

"Strong local control, community input and funding from state and federal partners must be the first step toward crafting a plan to address the migrant crisis," state Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) said Thursday.