Appalled by Mayor Adams' 'cold approach' to migrants, NYT editorial board member says 'New York can do better'

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NYC Mayor Eric Adams calls for state of emergency over migrant crisis

Correspondent Madison Alworth reports the latest on the migrant crisis from New York City. 

A notable member of the New York Times editorial board attacked New York City Mayor Eric Adams for having a "cold approach" when it came to handling the influx of migrants.

Mara Gay’s piece on Thursday criticized Adams’ response to the thousands of undocumented migrants flooding his city. While she acknowledged the issue as a "crisis" that Adams was ill-prepared to handle, she called his response "particularly disappointing about New York City’s official response to the asylum seekers, unfolding under the gaze of the Statue of Liberty in the harbor."

"Nearly four in 10 city residents were born outside the United States. Waves of immigrants — Dutch, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Chinese, Latino and Afro-Caribbean immigrants, along with many others — helped build this city. So did millions of Black Americans who chased dreams in the city after fleeing the tyranny of the Jim Crow South. That rich legacy doesn’t seem to be on Mr. Adams’s mind," Gay wrote. 

New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay criticized Mayor Adams' actions towards migrants. (Fox News)

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She continued, "Since the moment the migrants began showing up last spring, he has made clear he wants little to do with the practical or humanitarian issues their arrival has raised. The mayor has provided basic services for the migrants, and rightly so. But at every turn, he has done so grudgingly."

Gay criticized Adams’ efforts to either move migrants out of New York City or discourage them from staying by distributing fliers. Adams has also frequently warned that the city was at its capacity with migrants, which could cost NYC approximately $4.2 billion over the next two fiscal years.

In response, Gay called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, D, to appoint "a kind of New York asylum czar" to properly oversee the crisis while Adams allows nonprofit groups to take over the "welcoming" process.

"Despite Mr. Adams’s cold approach, many nonprofits and private volunteers and some municipal workers are engaged in this humanitarian work," Gay remarked.

Migrants arrive at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital )

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As of July 16, the city says it has over 54,800 migrants in care, with 188 sites set up to accommodate them. There were more than 2,800 migrants entering NYC care just one week prior.

Despite these issues, Gay compared Adams to Republican governors such as Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis for their methods of flying and bussing migrants.

"New York’s leaders are supposed to be different. The city’s voters didn’t intend to elect a mayor who acted like Greg Abbott, the Texas governor who sent migrants to cities across the country, including New York. Nor did they vote for someone like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the presidential candidate who used asylum seekers for political sport, flying them to the resort island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts at taxpayer expense just to own the libs," Gay wrote. "New York can do better."

Recently arrived migrants to New York City sleep on cardboard sheets on the sidewalk outside of the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown, Manhattan, where a temporary reception center has been established in New York City, New York, U.S., August 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

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Mayor Adams’ office did not respond for a comment.

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Fox News' Bailee Hill contributed to this report.