Mayor Spano Asks for Help from State and NYC to Pay for Services; NYC Looks for Other, Affordable Locations in Westchester
two vans carrying migrant women and young children arrived at the Ramada Inn in Yonkers May 15
By Dan Murphy
On Monday May 15, 14 migrant families with 38 people overall, primarily consisting of women and young children, arrived at the Ramada Inn Yonkers. The hotel has capacity for 100 families, to be housed in 100 rooms, and while it is unclear if those rooms will be filled, NYC Mayor Eric Adams and his administration continue to search for more locations in Westchester and other neighboring suburbs to house the overflow number of 60,000 migrants that New York City cannot accommodate.
Before the migrants arrived in Yonkers, County Executive George Latimer commented broadly on the need for our state and country to come up with a plan. Latimer proposed a number of logical initiatives, including opening a temporary immigration court in Westchester and getting work permits for some of the migrants.
But the matter has now shifted to the reality of caring for the migrant families now coming to Yonkers. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano held a press conference on May 16, and explained to his residents what he knows.
“With no plan, very little notice, and no additional resources, we have received 14 families, mostly single women, with young children under school age. They are no our guests and Yonkers is an immigrant city and we will treat them with dignity,” said Spano.
Spano explained that while NYC will pay for the room and board at the Ramada Inn, there will be other costs to care for the 38 now in Yonkers, and likely more to come. “The state provided New York City with $1 Billion to help with this crisis. I can’t believe that money was meant to be used to ship these families to other communities without provide assistance to City’s like Yonkers that will be affected.”
“We will continue to provide accountability from New York City and from State government. We call on the Governor to come up with a solution for local governments. The problem is not going away.”
Spano said that in recently phone calls with NYC and State officials, while the Adams administration continues to look for other locations in Yonkers and in Westchester, “they said how expensive it is to find housing outside of Yonkers. Does that mean that families will only go to poorer communities?”
Spano added that the Adams administration does not have plans to house additional migrants at another Yonkers location. “We don’t know about their health care needs or their social service needs. Right now there are no school age children, but that can change. We have families who don’t speak English and will need special education services. We want to do our part but it has to be shared by NYC and the state. We implore the Governor to come up with a plan.”
Yonkers City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy said, “We hear the voices from the residents who elected us. And as we are in the midst of finalizing our budget and looking to cut costs, we are also mindful that we are a migrant city and the city of immigrants who encourage people to be open to other diverse communities. We are calling on NYC and NYS to contribute to ensure we have the resources available for health care and education. We won’t stop until we get the help we need.”
Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada said, “We need an action plan that shows support for the residents while at the same time giving empathy and care to our new guests. We are preparing for the academic and social support that may be required and looking at where do we have the capacity? The fact is they are now members of this community and we are a caring community and we will be ready to support them. We have asked the State Education Department to provide funding for these young people.”
Any 3 year old child in the hotel is entitled to Pre-k services, but it is voluntary. At age 4, attendance become required in Pre-K. The Yonkers Public Schools also provides adult education services, which would be available to the women who arrived.
Mayor Spano said that so far, the conversations with NYC and State government “have been good and fruitful. We are expecting to hear more out of Albany. Now that they are here we will be good neighbors.”
Several City Councilmembers commented on the migrant women and children who arrived at the Ramada on Tuckahoe Road. City Council Minority Leader Mike Breen stated, “Since Friday, May 12th, the City of Yonkers has made repeated attempts to obtain information from New York City Mayor Eric Adams in relation to the migrants possibly being sent to Yonkers. Unfortunately, all of those calls went unanswered and the failed policies of President Biden, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mayor Adams has made it to Yonkers. On Monday, May 15th, 14 families of migrants (38 individuals) arrived in our City with nothing more than the clothes on their backs to be housed in a Yonkers hotel paid for with some of the over $1 billion Mayor Adams received to care for the migrants his city received. These funds were NOT given to Mayor Adams to export the migrants to neighboring cities. I am calling on every level of government who authorized sending the migrants to Yonkers be responsible for the full expense of them being here. That would include any housing, education, medical and any other unforeseen expenses incurred. The process must begin now to return the migrants to NYC. The cost of them being here cannot be borne by the Yonkers taxpayer,” said Breen.
City Councilman and Mayoral candidate Anthony Merante stated, “Without giving any notice of his intentions Adams decided to ship his migrants to Yonkers with no coordination with the City. This is a complete outrage! Adams was given one billion dollars by New York State to resolve his problem and he dumps it on Yonkers with no long-term plan or statement on the numbers of migrants coming or how long they will be staying. There are way too many inconsistencies in what is dripping out of Adams office. As the Councilmember in District 6 where the Ramada is located, I’m urging Mayor Spano to take forceful action and file a lawsuit to seek an injunction against the Ramada based on City code and certificate of occupancy violations. The hotel is permitted for temporary shelter not permanent housing. Furthermore, these new arrivals must be identified, this is a security issue. We must know who they are and their whereabouts to protect our community.”
In a joint statement, County Legislator James Nolan and Assemblyman Matt Slater stated, “New York City Government have told state and municipal leaders that they plan to relocated over 100 migrants to the city of Yonkers. They are all families and children but no other information has been provided. The lack of details is unacceptable for the residents of Yonkers. This is a failure of President Biden, Governor Hochul, and Mayor Adams -not the hardworking taxpayers of Yonkers and Westchester County. We urge Mayor Adams to reconsider this decision. Too many questions remain unanswered for this to be accepted.”
Mayor Spano said the alternative shelter was being made for two homeless families who were staying at the Ramada.
The question remains, what available and affordable locations are there in Yonkers and in Westchester County to house the migrant population?
Published reports claim that NYC has reserved the 100 rooms for one year. At a cost of $100 per room, 100 rooms for 350 days brings the total cost at $3.5 Million.
