New York City is wasting millions of dollars on no-bid emergency contracts for migrant services, including overpaying by $50 million for personnel at a single shelter in Midtown, according to a new audit from city Comptroller Brad Lander.
The audit found that four major contractors for migrant services charge “exorbitant rates” that “varied wildly” from company to company, with little oversight. For example, the companies’ hourly tab for off-site managers ranges from $57.79 to $201.06. Hiring city employees instead of for-profit contractors would result in annual savings of $50 million at the Row Hotel in Midtown alone, according to the report.
“The city allowed for-profit companies to take advantage of an emergency in its nascency,โ the report said.
โNew York City has led the nation in managing this national humanitarian crisis,โ said City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak in a statement, adding that over 60% of the migrants who have stayed in shelters have since left the shelter system. โOur success stems in large part from our ability to adapt and respond to the evolving needs of this crisis.โ
Mamelak said that at the start of the crisis, the city โbundledโ various services into contracts to โrapidly meet the emergency needs.โ And as the contracts have ended, she said the city has shifted its focus to โlong-term planning for future needsโ and remains โcommitted to maintaining these cost-saving measures.โ She added that City Hall will review the comptrollerโs report and fix any issues that needed to be addressed.
The report is the comptroller’s latest broadside against the Adams administration on migrant spending. Since the start of the city’s migrant influx in spring 2022, Lander has long complained the city’s use of emergency contracts for migrant spending was rarely justified. He revoked Adams’ emergency powers to hire migrant contractors without prior approval in December.
The city had 340 migrant-related contracts totaling $5.7…
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