Assemblyman Matt Slater is leading the charge to open an investigation into DocGo, a mobile medical services and transportation outfit that was contracted by the New York City government to help manage the ongoing migrant crisis in the five boroughs.
DocGo was given a $432 million contract, which resulted in a problematic handling of both the migrant crisis and public funds, as the firm was found to lack expertise in serving a group of people like undocumented migrants. The deal also called into question the quality of services from subcontractors, like those providing food and security. Despite reports that the New York City government would not work with DocGo moving forward, the city has just granted them a new $41 million no-bid contract to manage a relief site in Queens. Slater has said the entire affair was “unacceptable.”
“It is simply unacceptable that a no-bid contract be offered without a follow-up investigation. New Yorkers deserve transparency and accountability from organizations that spend and are paid by public funds, full stop,” Slater said. “I was grateful that my colleague, Assemblyman Ed Ra, agreed and joined me in drafting a letter to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to demand a formal audit of all of the $4.3 billion in state funding appropriated to manage the ongoing migrant crisis because enough is enough.
Assemblyman Ed Ra said that “The DocGo contracting scandal seems to be one of the biggest public spending debacles we’ve seen in this state. A no-bid agreement with an organization underprepared to manage a problem that could have been avoided if New York simply agreed to cut down on the migrant influx was always bound to cause problems for both governments and taxpayers. But now, we have an actual crisis of public funds being spent flippantly and without accountability. That must not be allowed to continue.”
“24 lawmakers signed that letter to the Comptroller. They all recognize that this state continues to spend egregiously without accountability. In the wake of a scandal where public funds are so blatantly wasted on incompetent contractors, this government has an obligation to look inward and correct. Anything less is a slap in the face to every taxpayer in this state,” Slater concluded.
Assemblyman Matt Slater represents the 94th Assembly District, which includes parts of Putnam
and Westchester counties, including the towns of Kent, Patterson, Putnam Valley, Carmel,
Southeast, Somers and Yorktown, as well as the village of Brewster.
