New York City officials late last month submitted an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $350 million.

The requests for money come as Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has been struggling to manage resources for the influx of asylum seekers.

What You Need To Know

  • The city submitted an application on March 29 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and asked for $350 million

  • More than 53,000 migrants have entered the shelter system as of this month, of which more than 33,000 remain in the city’s care

  • Some lawmakers took issue with details of the application, including City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams

As of this month, more than 53,000 migrants have entered the shelter system, of which more than 33,000 remain in the city’s care.

The requests also ask for an additional $300 million to offset the $654 million the city has already spent on housing and food, as well as reimbursement for legal services, school enrollment and other services the city has setup for arriving migrants.

The application was sent on March 29. NY1 reached out to FEMA for comment.

Knowledge of the application comes the same week Adams’ administration asked most city agencies to cut their budgets by 4% and submit a proposal by April 14 with the reductions, citing the ballooning costs of asylum seekers.

Some lawmakers took issue with details of the application, including City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan.

Brannan took issue with the city estimating a year of asylum costs at $3.3 billion, a significant increase from the mere millions spent in the first year of the influx.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams asked for more detailed accounting as well. 

Mayor Adams has recently said the asylum seekers are set to cost the city a whopping $4.2 billion by fiscal year 2024, up from an initial estimate of over $1 billion.

The city to date has only received $8 million from FEMA and an additional $2 million from Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office.