“As a union representing thousands of immigrants who provide professional hospitality to visitors to New York, we stand ready to help in any way we can,” he said in a statement sent out by the City Council in October.
The hotel operators did not respond to requests for comment.
There are contracts with food vendors to provide meals, as hotels generally do not have kitchens and devices such as rice cookers are prohibited. An agreement with LIC COM that began in October says the company will deliver a “culturally appropriate Latino menu with variety throughout the week” at Row, Watson and another haven at the Wolcott Hotel. The cost was $25-$35 per person each day.
Texas businesses are key
Two of the vendors contracted to install emergency shelters were SLSCO and Garner Environmental Services, both Texas-based disaster relief companies. SLSCO received a contract for $135 million starting in November; Garner received a $30 million contract.
Critics of the city’s response See the irony here, as it was Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott who began busing immigrants to northern cities last year to make a political statement. SLSCO too it was news for his role in building the border wall in his home state, and because the family behind him has supported Mr. Abbott as well as Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.
The company had previously been contracted by New York Emergency Management to build a covid field hospital who cared for few patients, and manage vaccination sites. A audit by Mr. Lander’s office regarding vaccination sites last year found that double billing and errors had led to tens of thousands of dollars in overpayments.
Mayor Eric Adams warned that the city cannot afford what he called “incredible stress,” but also stressed that New York will continue to welcome new arrivals, many of whom are seeking asylum. Mr. Lander, the comptroller and advocates have said the city must change its approach to getting all homeless residents into permanent housing more quickly: Even before immigrants began arriving in droves, the average stay in the shelter system in trouble was more than 500 days old.
Earlier this month, the City Announced that he would establish a new Office of Asylum Seeker Operations to coordinate all the services he provides to migrants, and Mr. Adams bragged about his administration’s response at an event that highlighted private donations for migrants.
“We go all over the country, nobody is doing it like New York, nobody,” he said, adding: “And we are there 24 hours a day.”
Asmaa Elkeurt contributed research.
