Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Funding negotiations for asylum seeker response efforts
2:12:12
ยท
107 sec
Council Member Diana Ayala inquires about the status of funding for asylum seeker response efforts, particularly regarding negotiations with the state. Commissioner Molly Wasow Park explains the current situation with state funding claims and ongoing discussions.
- $2 billion in state funding has been mostly claimed already
- Ongoing discussions with state partners about logistics of claims
- City remains committed to legal and moral obligation to provide shelter
Diana Ayala
2:12:12
Commissioner, the preliminary plan includes 1,000,000,000 of state funding for the asylum seeker response efforts in both fiscal years '26 and '27, and 350,000,000 in both fiscal '28 and '29, all of which is currently budgeted in DHS.
2:12:28
The governor did not include 2,700,000,000.0 in her executive budget, and she said that cost sharing between the city and the state would not continue.
2:12:37
Has there been any negotiations with the state to include this funding in the enacted fiscal twenty six state budget?
Molly Wasow Park
2:12:45
Thank you, councilmember.
2:12:46
So first of all, to clarify on the asylum budgeting.
2:12:50
In general, because there's been so much uncertainty around what costs will be and which agency will incur them, funding has been parked in DHS and then moved around as needed, so when you say that it's all in DHS, I think that is what you're seeing.
2:13:09
There is ongoing conversations with our agency partners at the state around the logistics of that for the $2,000,000,000 that was first the initial $1,000,000,000 and then the second tier.
2:13:23
The majority of that has been claimed already, and we are in discussions with the state around the logistics of those claims.
2:13:30
I will have to defer to OMB on any larger scale discussions about more allocations.
Diana Ayala
2:13:38
Does the city plan to replace the state funding with city funding in the executive budget?
2:13:44
Should that funding not come through?
Molly Wasow Park
2:13:46
So we are committed to our both legal and moral obligation to provide shelter.
2:13:52
I am confident that that we will continue to coordinate with OMB on the logistics of that that financing, but I don't have the specifics on that right now.