A New York City lawmaker is pushing to roll back the shelter limits for asylum seekers — a move that would undercut Mayor Adams efforts to deal the migrant surge overwhelming the Big Apple.
Manhattan Dem Gale Brewer proposed a resolution Thursday that would have the City Council back a state bill that would do away with caps on shelter stays, allowing asylum seekers to live in a city shelter for as long as they need.
“These are working families. They’re not interested in handouts. They’re interested in working,” Brewer told The Post.
Under the mayor’s current policy, single migrants are booted from their site every 30 days while families have 60-day stays. After their time is up, they are allowed to reapply for a bed but there is no guarantee that they will be placed at the same site.
The proposed state legislation, sponsored by Manhattan state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Queens Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, would bar government agencies, including local municipalities like New York City, from any such limits.
The lawmakers have called the caps “cruel” and “counterproductive.”
The Adams administration though has held up the policy as a massive success in dealing with the more than 190,000 migrants who have flooded into the Big Apple since spring of 2022.
City Hall has said the timeline sets a deadline for city workers and families to expedite the process of moving them out of the city’s care.
The limits were credited with nearly half of migrant families moving out of the city’s shelter system in March.
Brewer, who sponsored the resolution, said though it would be better for the Big Apple in the long run if they stayed so they could contribute to the economy once they land approval to work.
“In many cases these families will be helpful to the city of New York as soon as they get their working papers,” she said. “Instead of moving them around, I would love to see them get some support, get their working papers, help them get apartments, and get on their feet. Because I think that’s what is most helpful to them and to us.”
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