Attorney for Gov. Kathy Hochul sends scathing letter to judge about NYC's handling of asylum seeker crisisCBS News, Aug 16, 2023
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams' handling of the asylum seeker crisis has been called into question in the harshest of terms by a lawyer representing Gov. Kathy Hochul.
It comes as the state is on the hot seat in a legal action over the right to shelter and demands from both the city and advocates that Team Hochul do a lot more to help solve the crisis.
It's an unusual battle between the mayor and the governor, officials who have tried to make it seem that everything is hunky dory between them. But the court battle makes it clear that they are not on the same page, not by a long shot.
For example, the mayor wants the governor to get other localities to accept asylum seekers, but she is apparently not on board with that.
"Let's be very clear -- you cannot involuntarily take people from the city and send them all over the state of New York," Hochul said during a phone interview on NY1 on Wednesday. "Putting someone in a hotel on a dark, lonely road in upstate New York and telling them they're supposed to survive is not compassion."
Hochul said as much not long after her lawyer slammed the mayor's management of the asylum seeker crisis in intensely personal terms. It's part of a court suit over the right to shelter, with the city demanding the state do more, including:
*Picking up two-thirds of the expenses connected with caring for the new arrivals
*Absorbing education and shelter-related costs for migrants sent upstate, costs the city has been shouldering
The governor also argued that New York City, which is at the breaking point with 101,200 asylum seekers, is the best place for them.
"The city has more opportunities for them to work, has more opportunities with public transportation. It has more English as a second language programs than they do in these rural counties," Hochul said.
More:
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/attorney-for-gov-kathy-hochul-sends-scathing-letter-to-judge-about-nycs-handling-of-asylum-seeker-crisis/
