The City Council will scrutinize billions of dollars in no-bid contracts the Adams administration has doled out to cope with the Big Apple’s massive migrant influx.
Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-Manhattan), who chairs the powerful Committee on Oversight and Investigations, told The Post she will hold a hearing in the fall on the “emergency” deals — which have prompted a slew of complaints from left-and right-wing pols.
“There’s so many issues here so I feel it’s most a look at the contracts and the programs they’re providing,” Brewer said.
Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R- Brooklyn) said she was blown away by reports of asylum seekers who claimed they were misled by DocGo, a COVID testing-turned-migrant-shelter firm, on a $432 million contract to relocate migrants upstate.
“Taxpayers need a lot more transparency on the services provided — whether it’s transportation, security, medical or shelter,” said Vernikov, who was joined by Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) in first asking Brewer to hold the Oversight committee hearing.
Vernikov plans to introduce a bill this fall mandating the city create a public website to track taxpayer spending on migrants.
“The sanctity of taxpayer dollars cannot be overlooked,” she said.
Migrants now staying at Albany hotels have complained that DocGo workers promised better living conditions if they fled upstate, and that security guards hired by the company threatened them.
The migrant services contracts were pushed through under a state of emergency declared by the mayor in October and were not reviewed by City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office.
As of May 18,134 migrant-services contracts totaling $3.1 billion have been handed out, of which, only 47, or 19%, were reviewed by the comptroller, records show.
Adams last week estimated the price tag for the migrant crisis could hit $12 billion over the next three years.
Nearly 100,000 migrants have flooded the Big Apple so far.
Holden said the city should have learned its lesson during the pandemic when it “overspent” by fast-tracking billions in emergency contracts for masks, goods, and services.
“We really need answers from the Adams administration on why they’re doing so many no-bid contracts,” said Holden, who blamed President Biden’s lax border policies for the city’s migrant crisis. “I understand it’s an emergency, but it shouldn’t be abused.”
Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) agreed and said a hearing is needed.
“I think we learned from COVID that especially in the fog of a crisis, in order to protect the fiscal interests of our city, safeguards must still be in place with proper vetting when it comes to emergency procurement,” said Brannan, who chairs the Finance Committee.
The administration is “in constant communication with elected leaders” about migrant issues, including “holding detailed briefings on budget projections,” a spokesperson for the mayor said.
https://nypost.com/2023/08/19/nyc-council-to-hold-hearing-over-adams-migrant-contracts/
