Due to Migrant Influx, Mayor Says NYC School Parents May Have to Volunteer

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The mayor held a press briefing to coincide with the criticism of his administration by Staten Island officials for suddenly ending a school safety program involving 250 recruits while the city allocates greater resources to managing the surge of asylum seekers from the southern border.

As the city reduced recently trained safety agents amid the growing immigration crisis, Mayor Eric Adams advised New York City parents to get ready for "all hands on deck" and warned them that they might need to volunteer at their children's schools.

"To make sure we continue to create an environment for our children, we have to shift around personnel as much as possible… we're going to be leaning into parents and parent groups and do some volunteerism," Adams said in a media briefing on Tuesday afternoon. "We have to pull all hands on deck," the mayor said.

Media representatives were given the democratic mayor's word that he would never "allow" public schools to become dangerous for kids.

"In my concern that we will drop and make schools unsafe for our children, I am never going to allow that to happen," Adams said. "But we are going to be straining at a very high level to get this done correctly."

The news is in line with Adams' September announcement tht all city agencies must make 5% in budget cuts by this month in order to free up funds for the city's increased cost of migrant managment. Additionally, the mayor forewarned of another 5% cutbacks in January.

Prior to this, Adams warned that the migrant problem afflicting the city would contribute to a "financial tsunami" that would affect all government services, including "child service, our seniors, and housing."

The mayor did point out that there have been no incidents of school shootings in any New York City schools. "We have been successful, unlike other municipalities, where they have had shootings on school grounds and in some cases of mass shootings," Adams said. "We have not had one shooting inside our school because of the working school safety agents and the New York City Police Department."

Representative Nicole Malliotakis said , "We need more school safety agents to keep our children safe, not less. New York City is down 1,200 agents, a 25% cut from pre-COVID levels. We need Mayor Adams to put school children first and stop canceling new hires."