NYC Sues Putnam, 30 Other Counties for Blocking Migrants’ Relocation
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New York City is suing Putnam County and 30 other counties across the state for emergency declarations that have prevented the city from relocating asylum seekers to many locations outside the five boroughs.
The litigation, filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan last Tuesday, charges that the counties in question along with the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, which also issued an emergency order, “has sought to wall off their borders” during a humanitarian crisis, blocking New York City’s attempts to house “a small number” of migrants in private hotels.
“In particular, Respondents-Defendants have declared states of emergency premised on specious claims that the prospect of a few hundred asylum seekers sheltered at the City’s expense would somehow constitute an emergency imperiling public safety,” the city’s suit argued. “They have further issued executive orders prohibiting ‘foreign’ municipalities and local hotels from providing temporary shelter for migrants or asylum seekers, and imposing civil and criminal penalties on them if they do so.”
The suit stated that as of June 2, the city had taken in more than 72,000 asylum seekers, and more than 45,000 remain in locations provided by the city. Furthermore, migrants continue to arrive, many of them shipped by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott from the southern border to so-called sanctuary cities, including New York.
New York City is looking for the court to nullify the orders and prevent the localities from enforcing them because “under the U.S. Constitution because they seek to impede asylum seekers’ right to travel and stay in hotels in Respondents’ communities, in violation of the fundamental right to travel within a state and because they impermissibly classify individuals based on their national origin and/or alienage status,” according to the lawsuit.
Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne said last week that the action by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration “constitutes another dishonest attempt by New York City to foist its responsibilities on other localities.”
He said that the city had initially pledged to look for temporary residences for up to four months but the county later learned it had contacted the owner of one Putnam facility to discuss contracts of at least six months.
Most municipalities have limits of about 30 days that somebody can be housed at a lodging facility.
“Our executive order, while similar, is unique compared to most other counties, as it clearly states that ‘absent a shared services agreement’ we will not allow (New York City) to set up what will become essentially homeless shelters within the borders of Putnam,” Byrne said. “If Adams succeeds in suspending right to shelter, any municipality housing migrants would immediately become responsible for paying for and caring for these individuals. Putnam County cannot afford to be put in such a position and our executive order stands.”
Byrne’s director of communications, Christopher Formisano, said there has been no substantive contact between the city and Putnam County to discuss the issue outside of a Zoom call more than a month ago. That call, which had been arranged through the Association of Counties and included county executives across the state, gave little time for the county executives to ask questions of Adams, he said.
“We then sent a letter to the mayor’s office and received no response, and that was the extent of the communication between our two offices,” Formisano said.
On May 6, Rockland County Executive Ed Day was the first official in what are now 38 counties to have issued an emergency order. Within two days, Orange County followed.
Although New York City’s litigation includes the Town of Riverhead, it does not name the two other towns in the state that have issued orders – Mount Pleasant in Westchester and Fishkill in Dutchess County. Several counties that have issued emergency orders are also not included.
In a statement last Wednesday, New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix said the relatively low number of individuals lawfully placed in the various jurisdictions reflect a relatively small number of migrants but would be a significant step to assist the city.
As of last week, Westchester had received just over 200 people, housed temporarily in two locations in Yonkers and more recently White Plains.
“These counties have attempted to close their doors instead of lending their assistance to New York City’s reasonable and lawful efforts to address this crisis. We are asking the court to declare these executive orders null and void, in order to provide asylum seekers shelter during these unprecedented times,” Hinds-Radix said.
Last week, a federal judge ruled against Rockland and Orange counties, temporarily blocking officials there from enforcing their emergency declarations because they were issued with discriminatory motives.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
