NYC Council uses $1.2 million of remaining youth agency cash to launch migrant relief fund – without Mayor Adams’ involvement

City Council leaders announced Wednesday that they will use their remaining $1.2 million in youth development funds to launch a migrant relief initiative — without the involvement of Mayor Adams’ team.

Funds have been allocated in the City’s budget for this fiscal year for the Department of Youth and Community Development, which invests in nonprofits and programs that provide work and education opportunities for low-income New Yorkers.

With only four months left in the fiscal year, $1.2 million remains unspent, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens) said at a news conference Wednesday.

She said the Council will use the money to launch a “Welcome to New York” program designed to channel money to non-profit organizations that provide a range of services for newly arrived asylum seekers.

“The Council saw an opportunity to redirect this funding to support organizations that are on the ground that have been around for months and months and months,” said the speaker, who was joined by several Council members and representatives from nonprofits.

Speaker Adrienne Adams and the New York City Council announce the "Cheer New York Initiative" at City Hall on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

The council’s contribution will be combined with $1 million in investments from charities including the Robin Hood Foundation and the New York Community Foundation, totaling $2.2 million, according to the speaker’s office.

Adams, not affiliated with the mayor, stressed that while the money is reallocated specifically to help migrants, it will be spent on efforts in line with “its original purpose.” This covers “workforce development, literacy services, mentoring programs, youth leadership, catering services, social and educational programs,” she said.

The press conference was not attended by anyone from Mayor Adams’ administration, which has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars housing and providing services for more than 47,000 migrants, mostly from Latin America, who have arrived in the city since last spring.

Front page New York Daily News, September 16, 2022: Migration Crisis.  Mayor Adams: Not repeal of the shelter law, but the influx of migrants threatens the system.

The launch of “Welcome to New York” also comes amid disagreements between the mayor, the Democrat, and the Council over how the city’s migration crisis should be handled.

Some of the council’s progressive members, including Immigration Committee Chair Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn), accused the administration of “inhumane” treatment of migrants by housing them in tents instead of hotels and not providing sufficient amenities such as mobile phones and MetroCards.

Rebuffing these Council members, in December the mayor told the Daily News that they should use their own discretionary funds – the money they allocate annually to community initiatives in their neighborhoods – to fund such services for migrants. “Give us half of your membership stuff,” the mayor said at the time.

Asked if she consulted with the administration ahead of Wednesday’s budget shuffle, Speaker Adams said only, “We’re definitely connected to the administration, as we are on all budget lines.”

But she added: “This is a statement from the New York City Council. This is our initiative.”

Speaker Adrienne Adams and the New York City Council announce the "Cheer New York Initiative" at City Hall on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Press secretaries for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Council Finance Committee Chairman Justin Brennan (D-Brooklyn) said after the press conference that the mayor did not need to be involved in the funding switch because the money in question came from the Council’s own appropriations in the FY 2023 budget.

“It has nothing to do with them,” he told The News. “We don’t need their permission to do this.”

Migrants arrive by bus at the Port Authority from Texas on Thursday, September 22, 2022, in Manhattan, New York.

On Thursday, the council plans to pass a resolution that formally reallocates $1.2 million to migrant-related services.

An unofficial breakdown provided by the Speaker’s Office shows that the Council’s largest portion of funding, $420,000, will go to nonprofits providing “literacy services” for migrants.

Murad Awadeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, which includes groups that will benefit from Welcome to New York, said the initiative provides “amazing opportunities for the many organizations that work day in and day out.”

“So far, this work has been going on for eight months and is mostly supported by civil society organizations with almost very little support,” Awadeh said.

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