Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has recently signed a new emergency contract worth $76.69 million with the Hotel Association of New York City. This contract aims to provide temporary shelter to migrant families who have arrived seeking asylum. Under the “vouchering program,” fifteen hotels in Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx will allocate blocks of rooms for up to 28 days. The program will run until July. Mayor Adams emphasized that no child or family will be left to sleep on the streets.
This contract has been beneficial for the hotel industry, which has suffered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, in September, the city extended contracts with the hotel association for three years, costing $1.3 billion, in order to convert over 100 hotels into emergency shelters.
The program is managed by the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation Development (HPD), and currently, there are 493 households receiving shelter through this initiative. The president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, Vijay Dandapani, expressed their pride in supporting the city’s mission to care for asylum seekers.