Mayor Eric Adams wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to stop other states from shipping migrants to New York City — as the number of asylum seekers arriving in the Big Apple surged to 1,300 over a three-day stretch this week, sources told The Post Thursday.
A “frustrated” Adams made the plea during an internal budget briefing Wednesday, complaining that FEMA should crack down on cities using federal grant money to move migrants to New York so the Big Apple doesn’t become more burdened by the cost of aiding them, sources with knowledge of the meeting said.
“There was an issue about the FEMA money that other places are getting that they can use that money to rent buses. Why are we giving money to send people to different cities?” a source said of Hizzoner’s plea.
Adams’ complaints came after a three-day stretch from Sunday, April 23 to Wednesday, April 26 in which 1,300 migrants came to New York City. That was part of a surge of 2,300 that came in the week since April 19.
In that same time, eight new emergency shelters opened up to cater to the growing influx, according to the data, though it wasn’t immediately clear where in the city they are located.
Adams, who last week blasted the White House for turning its back on NYC, has repeatedly begged the federal government for help — warning that the financial burden of sheltering asylum seekers is threatening the city.
The mayor’s latest call for a federal spending crackdown comes as FEMA prepares to dish out $800 million in migrant-related federal aid at the end of next month to help cities combat the cost of housing asylum seekers.
The Big Apple has already applied for a $650 million chunk of that federal cash and is banking on it to help plug gaps in the city’s budget.
To date, the city has received $8 million in federal funding to help with the mounting migrant crisis.
It is not clear what cities, if any, have been using FEMA funds to relocate migrants to the Big Apple. The federal agency didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Still, Adams already took his demand directly to FEMA when he met privately with the agency’s administrator, Deanne Criswell, and regional administrator, David Warrington in Washington D.C. last week, according to City Hall.
“During the FEMA meeting last week, we said that those [cities] that receive FEMA funding should ensure that they are acting in a way that doesn’t put additional strain on other cities, like unannounced without any kind of coordination, not providing services via buses,” a source said.
“If you’re just a pass through city and if you’re not sheltering them then why should you get the FEMA money?”
Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott made a show of sending busloads of asylum seekers to Manhattan’s Port Authority starting last spring after the migrants had crossed the US southern border into his state.
Since then, 58,300 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple — including 36,100 who are currently being put up in city-run shelters and humanitarian relief centers.
There are now 120 emergency hotels and shelters housing migrants across the five boroughs.
Adams warned during his $106.7 billion budget address on Wednesday that figure would likely double and hit more than 70,000 by June 2024.
The city anticipates that the cost of providing shelter, food, clothing, and other services for asylum seekers will top $4.3 billion by the end of next year — and increase to $5.3 billion by 2025 — Adams added.
The city has already spent $817 million on the migrant crisis between July 2022 and March, according to the Office of Budget and Management.
Adams warned the city might have to reassess the budget figures and “redo the numbers” if the influx of migrants continues at the current pace.
Adams had raged during his D.C. visit last week that the ongoing crisis has “destroyed” the city as he sounded the alarm on the multi-billion-dollar cost to the Big Apple budget.
“The issue is not the asylum seeker. The issue is the fact that the national government is not doing its job,” he said as he blasted the lack of federal aid.
“Even if our optimistic projections are met, state and federal aid will cover just under 40% of our costs — leaving New Yorkers to pay the rest,” Adams added.
The Democrat has ramped up his criticism of the Biden administration of late for refusing to provide additional fiscal relief, accusing the White House last week of abandoning the city and triggering “one of the largest humanitarian crises that this city has ever experienced.”
“The national government has turned its back on New York City,” Adams said at the time. “Every service in this city is going to be impacted by the asylum seeker crisis.”
