A controversial move to combat the migrant crisis sees New York City Mayor Eric Adams sign a $1 billion no-bid contract with NYC hotels. The contract will direct $929.1 million taxpayer dollars towards housing the homeless and asylum seekers in New York City in a renewed contract with the Hotel Association of New York City Foundation. Eric Adams has previously claimed the migrant crisis is “tapering off,” making his decision all the more confusing for New York City residents. The re-upped contract took effect in January and will run through June 30, 2026.
The decision to recommit to a contract with the Hotel Association of New York City foundation is polarizing, especially since the contract was awarded to a specific vendor without a competitive bidding process. In this case, the Hotel Association becomes a “fiscal agent” of the program, which connects the city with hotels that are willing to house homeless individuals and families in exchange for rental payments. The hospitality industry then becomes a monopoly under the sole source contract, instead of individual hotels competing against each other.
Since the migrant crisis began in New York City in 2022, the city has spent $3.12 billion on sheltering and housing new arrivals. However, Adams had claimed earlier this year that the crisis is easing in New York City and began shutting down other migrant shelters. The number of migrants in New York City is also dwindling as a result of Trump’s crackdown on immigration. Those in need of taxpayer-funded shelters have decreased from 140,000 in June 2024 to 95,000 today.
In response, the Roosevelt Hotel, at the center of the city’s migrant-shelter response, is set to close as soon as next week. The Roosevelt Hotel was used as an intake center, in an area packed with commuters and tourist hot spots, and became a symbol of New York City’s struggles to manage the migrant crisis. Its closure came as the arrival of migrants plummeted, and some were moved outside the city. Between June 2024 and June 2025, Mayor Adams has closed 46 migrant shelters. However, the city’s shelter population still remains at 86,000, which is far above normal.
The available hotel rooms in designated hotels will be used by social services to house those in need of emergency shelter who have entered the Department of Homeless Services. Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, wondered, “Why do we need to be using so many hotels for day-to-day homeless management?” She went on to say, “This is turning an emergency program into a permanent program and taking a block of hotel rooms off the tourist market while people complain the city’s hotel room costs are so high.”
The overall cost to house migrants per night in New York City is $352, which includes the $130 fee to hotels for the room rental. In response to backlash from taxpayers, the Hotel Association of New York City Foundation revealed it takes a nominal fee for limited administrative expenses in order to ensure taxpayer money is spent efficiently, according to the foundation’s CEO, Vijay Dandapani. Additionally, under New York’s right to shelter policy, the city must provide emergency shelter to all who need it. The new contract intends to continue reducing the number of individuals living in shelters; however, New York City residents still hope for more transparency as Adams’s deal comes into effect.
