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Hochul criticizes New York City mayor for failing to utilize resources to manage asylum seeker crisis

The state contends New York City is resisting help and slow to act.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Attorneys for Gov. Kathy Hochul sent a scathing 12-page letter to New York City, criticizing Mayor Eric Adams for failing to utilize resources to manage the crisis.

It's being called a humanitarian crisis. Asylum seekers are here in Western New York, and in New York City, more people are coming on a daily basis.

The governor's attorney points to a lack of communication with New York City's mayor. In a 12-page letter, Hochul outlines what has been done to tackle the high number of people seeking asylum in New York.

The state contends New York City is resisting help and is slow to act. On Wednesday afternoon, we heard from the deputy New York City mayor for communications.

"That letter says that the state wants to collaborate deeply with the city, and we look forward to that, and we have been doing that since last year," Fabien Levy said. "But if they want to take a more proactive role, we very much welcome that. We've been very clear that we cannot handle this crisis solely on our own, we need the state and federal government. You see it in almost every press release we send out. We need more from our state and federal partners, so we welcome that."

Levy said he would like the state to ensure that counties across the state are not issuing their own executive orders, which is something that happened in Western New York.

According to the letter, New York City should communicate to the state, counties, and localities with meaningful notice about the transfer of migrants before it happens.

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