STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A visit to Washington D.C. left Mayor Eric Adams with little hope for help from President Joe Biden to assist with the ongoing migrant crisis, hizzoner said Friday.
The financial pressure of caring for tens of thousands of people has led Adams’ administration to make several rounds of cuts to services around the five boroughs, but the responsibility of dealing with an international crisis will continue to fall on the city’s shoulders.
“As I left Washington D.C., I did not leave with optimism. I left with the cold reality that help is not on the way in the immediate future,” he said. “At this moment, it is going to be up to New Yorkers, this administration, to continue to navigate this challenge that we’re facing.”
Over 130,000 migrants have made their way to the five boroughs since the spring of 2022, and officials in the Adams administration have estimated a $12 billion price tag over the next few years.
The high cost has prompted the city to issue a series of cuts to services around the city, including sanitation services, library budgets leading to fewer hours, and FDNY operations.
Since the early days of the crisis, Adams and other city officials have made repeated calls to the federal and state governments for more financial help, but the calls have mostly fallen on deaf ears.
Adams’ Thursday visit came amid plummeting poll numbers that show a New York City population displeased with the mayor’s performance.
A Quinnipiac University poll published Wednesday showed Adams with a 28% approval rating among 1,297 self-identified voters — the lowest mayoral approval rating since the school began polling in 1996.
While the ongoing migrant crisis seems to be taking a political toll on Adams, it seems unlikely any more help will be coming from Washington.
“We are at an untenable situation right now and it is painful for us. It is painful for the city,” he said. “I think that you see it being reflected in the polls. It is…
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