NYC Mayor Eric Adams Plans To Welcome Migrants With Open Arms And House Them In Churches And Homes

NYC Mayor Eric Adams is taking a welcoming approach to the tens of thousands of migrants descending upon the city and is urging residents to do the same.

In a press conference, Adams announced a two-year partnership with New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) that will allow 50 houses of worship or faith-based spaces to provide overnight shelter for up to 19 single adult men per location, according to the New York Post. The mayor also explained that the partnership would be more fiscally responsible for the city as it will pay places of worship a nightly rate of $125 to house asylum seekers compared to the $380 daily rate it costs to house migrant families in shelter hotels. In addition, there are plans to open five offsite daytime centers to provide resources and support to those in need, allowing faith-based spaces to maintain their usual activities.

“No matter what faith you practice, caring for those in need is part of every spiritual tradition,” Adams said. “As we continue to tackle this humanitarian crisis, I’m proud that through this new partnership…, New York City’s faith community will be able to provide shelter to asylum seekers in need at houses of worship throughout the five boroughs.”

He also proposed a plan requiring much more leg work and hasn’t been officially approved: allowing NYC residents to be paid to house migrants. “It is my vision to take the next step to this faith-based locales and then move to a private residence,” he said. “We can take that $4.2 billion, or $4.3 billion maybe now, that we potentially have to spend, and we can put it back in the pockets of everyday New Yorkers, everyday houses of worship instead of putting it in the pockets of corporations, and some of those corporations come from outside of our city.”

Though he isn’t clear on just how to carry out such a huge undertaking, Adams said he’d first focus on working around rules that make it illegal to house homeless people in homes and then work to bring “basement apartments” up to code so that they can be legally used as housing alternatives, according to Fox News. For Adams, it is a sufficient and more appealing long-term plan for the city. “First of all, it’s cheaper and it’s an investment for us to go to a family and assist them instead of placing people in large congregate settings or all these emergency hotels,” he said.