Mayor Adams Loses Ability to Spend Freely on Migrant Services

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Mayor Eric Adams no longer has the authority to make last-minute agreements with companies that provide migrant services without first receiving permission from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

As the city continues to struggle to house the tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in the Big Apple over the previous year and a half, Lander's office informed local agencies of the revocation in a letter dated last Thursday, which The Post was able to get on Monday afternoon.

The letter states, in part: “Given the rapid expansion of the City’s efforts to shelter arriving asylum seekers, our Office is revising its prior approval." In November 2022, Lander's office first authorized the Adams administration to enter into agreements with migrant service companies without the comptroller's prior consent.

According to city contract data examined by the Post and made available online, emergency contracts linked to migrant services have been awarded for nearly half a billion dollars since May alone. The contracts cover shelter, laundry services, and food for the asylum seekers.

On November 29, City Hall signed $54 million in new contract agreements alone, all to accommodate immigrant families.

Press Secretary to NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, Chloe Chik, said in a statement, "Our review found extensive failures to report subcontractors despite problems that surfaced with many of them and 80 percent have no performance reviews at all. In response, we concluded that the most prudent course for the city’s fiscal health and integrity would be to require City Hall to seek prior approval before using emergency procurement on a case-by-case basis, as required by the City Charter, rather than blanket approval to use whenever they want.”

Not everyone is happy with this development. City Hall spokesperson Charles Lutvak said Lander's decision is “tying our hands behind our back is unfair to both new arrivals and longtime New Yorkers and will unquestionably slow down every step in the process. We will continue to hold our contractors to the highest standards for providing care and services.”