BUFFALO, N.Y. — Last spring and summer asylum seekers arrived by buses at hotels in Erie County. That was because New York City officials moved them to other areas of the state to ease overcrowding in that city.
Now there is talk of moving some of them out of the local hotels and into apartments and New York city government would reportedly pay the rent.
Last summer it was roughly estimated by Erie County officials that about 500 asylum seekers were placed in hotels as shelters in Cheektowaga, and one hotel eventually in Amherst.
That flow of bused in migrants from New York City stopped after reports of alleged sexual assaults and other problems, and even the National Guard was brought in to help stabilize the situation.
So now State Senator Sean Ryan is pushing the idea of moving some of them to new addresses here in Erie County and other upstate counties where they were sent.
"We have families and kids who have been living in hotels for two quarters and would really like to situate them in permanent nice housing, not hotels," Ryan said. "I can't make the point enough that hotels are for short-term rentals. But providing a stable housing situation, it helps people integrate into the community."
Senator Ryan confirms there have been discussions between New York City and various Western New York resettlement agencies with the claim there could be a financial savings.
"Right now New York City is spending tens of thousands on hotels, and you could rent an apartment in Erie County for about a quarter of what they're paying for hotels," Ryan said.
Ryan was also asked if that could have some effect on the rental market in the Buffalo area, where it is said by landlords and advocates to be tight and costly.
He responded: "We're talking 500 people not households. We're a county of a million people. People move in and out all the time, and because of the rates New York City has been paying for the hotels is so high, then we're able to save New York City money. We're super sensitive to not putting more pressure on the bottom of the housing market where right now there is the biggest squeeze."
Now perhaps this could help the bottom line of New York City government, which is in part funded for migrant care and shelter by the state of New York as in taxpayers. There was no response so far from the governor's office on that point.
Senator Ryan emphasized there are so far no signed contracts with any landlords. There was no mention of New York City's pass through contractor DocGo, which got $432 million to help move and provide care for the migrant population. So far the State Attorney General's office has never told us if DocGo is still under investigation.
We got responses of no comment Thursday from some of the resettlement agencies involved in the discussions.
Also, the state has about 2,100 National Guard troops still at the shelter hotels here in Erie County, other upstate counties, and the New York City metro.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state spent $22 million a month for their Guard operation in the August of 2023, letter which she sent to President Biden to request federal funding help.