New York City Hotels Score Big With Taxpayer-Funded Migrant Shelter Deals: REPORT

By Jeff Charles

(Daily Caller) New York City taxpayers are reportedly set to pay out over $1 billion to house illegal immigrants and asylum seekers who have crossed the southern border into the U.S.

Of 193 shelters being used to house migrants, about 153 are hotels, motels or inns, according to the New York Post. About 65,300 people are reportedly residing in these facilities.

The average cost for each room is $156 per night, or as high as $300, according to the outlet.

About $1.98 billion of the $4.88 billion New York City residents have collectively spent on migrants has gone toward housing, the outlet reported. Several hotels reportedly have hefty contracts with the city, including the Row NYC hotel, which is getting $5.13 million each month, and the Crowne Plaza JFK in Queens, which secured a $2-million-per-month deal for housing migrants in its 335 rooms.

Some are not happy with how their tax money is being spent.

“Our taxes are being used to pay for the migrants, and where are we supposed to make revenue?” asked a local business owner, the New York Post reported.

Councilwoman Joann Ariola also criticized the use of taxpayer funds for migrant housing.

“These locations were meant to boost the economy of this city, but instead they’ve become a net drain and are costing us enormously,” she said.

New York Mayor Eric Adams’s administration signed an emergency $76.69 million contract in January 2024 with the Hotel Association of New York City to provide “last resort” shelter to migrant families, according to the New York Post.

The contract directed 15 Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx hotels to provide asylum-seeking migrants access to blocks of rooms for up to 28 days under a “vouchering program” until July, the outlet reported.

Adams later issued a March 15, 2024 decree restricting migrants’ access to shelters. Under the order, migrants would have to leave shelters after 30 days and would not be able to reapply, though exceptions could be made for individuals with medical conditions or an “extenuating circumstance,” according to the release.