'Help is not on the way': Mayor Eric Adams speaks out after DC meetings on migrant crisis

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Friday, December 8, 2023
Adams on DC meetings for migrant crisis: 'Help is not on the way'
The mayor says he has no choice but to move forward with painful budget cuts to cover a $7 billion deficit.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Mayor Eric Adams painted a grim picture Friday of his trip to Washington, D.C., where he sought more financial help for the ongoing migrant crisis in New York City.

Adams met with Congressional leaders and members of the Biden administration on Thursday.

The mayor says Washington should help cover the cost of housing hundreds of thousands of migrants. However, he said he left the meetings "with the cold reality that help is not on the way."

"We did not walk out from D.C. with any level of optimism that anything is going to drastically change," Adams said. "It is clear that for the time being this crisis is going to be carried by the cities."

He went on to say that "help is not on the way in the immediate future."

Instead, he says he has no choice but to move forward with painful budget cuts to cover a $7 billion deficit.

"This is not the budget we wanted to pass," he said. "We are at an untenable situation right now, it is painful for us, it is painful for the city and I think you see it being reflected in the polls, it is because our federal government's actions have taken a toll from the people of this city."

The comments on Friday were in sharp contrast to the mayor's social media post Thursday night describing a "very productive day in Washington, D.C."

ALSO READ: Eric Adams' 28% approval rating is lowest by NYC mayor in over quarter century in new poll

What's driving New Yorkers' unfavorable opinion of Mayor Eric Adams? Jim Dolan breaks down a new poll.

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