The Big Apple's $929.1 million taxpayer-funded contract with the Hotel Association of New York City Foundation is poised to house a staggering 86,000 people, including vagrants and so-called "asylum seekers." The contract will extend through June 30, 2026, according to the city.
"These hotel units will be used by social services vendors to house emergency shelter clients who have entered the shelter system," the agency said in a notice last month.
According to the Mayor's Office of Contract Services, the contract was awarded following a competitive bid via "negotiated acquisiton," which is a "method of procurement that is used when only a few vendors are available to provide the goods or services needed, when there is limited time available to procure necessary goods or services, or when a competitive procurement is otherwise not feasible."
The Hotel Association, as the "fiscal agent" of the program, is responsible for connecting the city with hotels that are willing to reserve accommodations for homeless individuals and families in exchange for rental payments under the new contract. The total cost for the city to house illegal immigrants per night is $352, which includes $130 for the room rental at hotels, city officials said the year prior.
"This agreement is an extension of the non-profit HANYC foundation's ongoing work since COVID to connect city funding with hotels to address New York's need to provide emergency services to the homeless," Hotel Association CEO Vijay Dandapani told the NYP. "The foundation began providing this service five years ago pro bono and only takes a nominal fee for limited administrative expenses in order to ensure taxpayer money is spent efficiently."
In the past, hotels that have been using this program have increased crime in NYC communities, particularly the area around the Roosevelt Hotel, where illegal migrants could often be observed engaging in theft and assaulting NYPD officers. The Roosevelt Hotel also infamously housed illegal migrant gang members belonging to Tren de Aragua, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Mayor Adams' administration defended the contract, saying that the city must provide emergency shelter to all who need it under New York's right to shelter policy, per the Post.
