New York City’s public hospital system will spend more than $90 million to house migrants at hotels in the Big Apple through the spring, local reports found.
The New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation, which operates public hospitals and clinics in the city, is tasked with overseeing housing for the influx of illegal immigrants. The group’s CEO, Mitchell Katz, has approved spending millions on four hotels to house the migrants in Manhattan, the New York Post reported.
Katz approved $40 million to go to the four-star hotel Row NYC near Times Square, another $28 million to the four-star Stewart Hotel near Madison Square Garden, $20 million to the three-star hotel the Watson in Hell’s Kitchen and another $5.8 million to the two-star Wolcott Hotel near the Empire State Building, the Post and online publication The City reported this month. All in, the cost for housing the migrants through the spring of this year sits at $93.8 million.
At least 47,600 migrants have inundated the city since last year, including when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending buses of migrants to the city in August amid the ongoing border crisis.
ERIC ADAMS SPENDS COLDEST WINTER NIGHT IN SHELTER AFTER MIGRANTS REFUSED TO LEAVE HOTEL
Migrants are seen outside the Watson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
There are a total of seven “Humanitarian Response and Relief Centers” in the city, including the four hotels, housing at the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel in Long Island City, one at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and another at the Holiday Inn in the Financial District.
“Since the beginning of this humanitarian crisis, New York City has mounted a multi-agency response to ensure we are meeting our moral obligations and providing compassionate, comprehensive care to those arriving in our city,” a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams told The City, “and NYC Health + Hospitals has been key in that response from the start.”
ILLEGAL MIGRANTS REFUSE TO LEAVE NYC HOTEL FOR BROOKLYN MIGRANT RELIEF CENTER, SLEEP IN THE STREET
Migrants camp out in front of the Watson Hotel after being evicted, on Feb. 1, 2023 in New York City. (Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpres)
The housing plans have come with a series of issues, including Row NYC found to throw out nearly a ton of food each day, according to a hotel whistleblower who previously spoke to the Post.
While late last month, a group of migrants who were staying at the Watson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan refused to leave the hotel – and even protested by sleeping in the streets – after city officials said they would be housed at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS PLEADS WITH WHITE HOUSE FOR MORE HELP ON MIGRANT CRISIS
New York City Mayor Eric Adams poses for photo at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. (Eric Adams Twitter )
Adams even slept at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on the coldest night of the year earlier this month in an effort to fend off criticism that the facilities were lackluster.
The mayor has meanwhile pleaded with the White House for more assistance from the government as the migrant population grows.
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“I have a Republican governor dumping on my city,” Adams said last month. “I have a Democratic governor dumping on my city. That is where the national government should have stepped in and said, ‘Wait a minute, let’s coordinate this effort.’”
Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis had also bused migrants to New York City and Chicago as the migrant crisis swelled in Denver and other areas, but announced a halt to the busing program last month after outcry from Adams and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.