CITIZENS NEWS

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander exposes Mayor Eric Adams' multimillion-dollar migrant shelter scandal

By lauraharris // 2024-03-05

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has accused Mayor Eric Adams of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on no-bid contracts for for-profit companies managing emergency shelters for so-called asylum seekers. A review conducted by Lander's office identified 340 contracts with an estimated total value of $5.7 billion, most of which were procured on an emergency basis to bypass competitive bidding requirements. The report also claims that exorbitant rates were paid to these companies, with one vendor charging $185.63 per hour for shelter supervisors, nearly triple the cost of a competitive bid contract. Security guards under a no-bid contract also receive $90 per hour, compared to $29.80 per hour for a city employee or $25.07 per hour for the average contracted rate.

"The asylum seeker contracts show the dangers of this process run amok – wildly high staffing prices with little consistency across agencies, costing much more than traditional procurements or hiring city employees," the report stated.

Moreover, the report questions the ongoing use of emergency contracts even though Adams was given ample time to address shelter overpopulation and incorporate asylum seekers into the existing procurement system right after he declared a state of emergency in October 2022. "The city allowed for-profit companies to take advantage of an emergency in its nascency. These companies charged exorbitant rates for roles that are frequently procured by the city at more reasonable rates. The city has had ample time to navigate this new status quo of shelter overpopulation and to incorporate the asylum seekers into our time-tested system of procurement and service provision that minimizes risk to the city and keeps costs low," the report stated. In an interview with WBC TV, Adams said the initial surge in spending was a result of inheriting the crisis in an emergency state.

"When we inherited it, we were in an emergency state. Emergency conditions cost more money. We're now transitioning into a stabilized state. This is going to be here for a while. So by doing that, we can renegotiate contracts. We can look at long-term planning. We're not using this as an emergency, although we're in a crisis status. We're treating it differently because the emergency still exists. But we are managing it differently," Adams said. (Related: NYC Mayor Eric Adams DEFUNDS POLICE, rolls out various austerity measures to spend on ILLEGAL MIGRANTS.)

Adams now cutting migrant spending

But now that the city is starting to stabilize, Adams plans to have an additional 10 percent cut in migrant spending, bringing the total reduction to 30 percent. "We can renegotiate contracts [and] we can look at long-term planning. The emergency still exists, but we're managing it differently," Adams said.

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