 Good afternoon I'm deputy mayor and Williams Isom the deputy mayor for health and human services and welcome to this week's asylum seeker briefing Joining me today is commissioner Zach Eskall the commissioner of New York City emergency Management and dr. Ted long the senior vice president at New York City health and hospitals New York City Continues to respond to this humanitarian crisis work with partners and call for additional resources Because we cannot continue handling this without more support as a number of asylum seekers in our care surpasses 56,200 today. We are announcing a new humanitarian relief center to serve adults seeking asylum in Partnership with New York State the city will soon construct and open a humanitarian relief center that will serve up to a thousand adults Adult men seeking shelter in the parking lot at Creedmore psychiatric center in Queens We are very grateful to the state for its support in providing the space We also are grateful for their commitment to reimburse the city for all costs of this site including construction maintenance and staffing This is especially true as the city has already spent more than $1.5 billion on this crisis and expense expects to spend a total of four point five three Total of four point three five billion at the end of next June Construction will begin in the coming weeks and we hope to open the site shortly after that This will allow for some relief and some space for children with families. I Also want to provide an update on the 60-day policy for adults seeking for asylum seekers that we announced last week This week we began notices to adults in humanitarian relief centers and will continue to issue these notices on a rolling basis Over the coming months our trained caseworkers will work closely with people to help them move forward on their journey and to find a Place to settle dr. Long will be able to provide more information about that when we take some questions as We have repeatedly said of the more than 93,000 people who have come through our system We know that roughly 37,000 people have moved on to their next step in the journey Whether that is here or across the country So we want to make sure that we are meeting those people where they are and helping people to settle in other places outside of the shelter system Before I turn it over to Zach to delve into the details of our new humanitarian relief center. Let me share some of the latest data As of July 23rd, we have over a hundred and seven thousand three hundred people who are in our care This includes the over fifty six thousand two hundred asylum seeker This is putting an enormous strain on the system Since last spring we have more than ninety three thousand two hundred people come through our system seeking asylum We have now opened over a hundred and ninety two sites Including thirteen humanitarian relief sites and that doesn't include the current facility at creed more that we just announced today Nor does it include the facility at whole street that will open next month as a humanitarian relief center and Last week from July 1st from July 17th to July 23rd We had twenty nine hundred asylum seekers enter our system as you can see these numbers are high They continue to be high week after week We're getting thousands of people who are coming to New York City and Wanting shelter and seeking asylum Let me now turn it over to commissioners act to discuss a few of the details of the new relief space at creed more Thank You Deputy Mayor Williams Isom your efforts and dedicated leadership throughout this humanitarian crisis have been nothing short of Exemplary it's through your leadership in the administration at large that we've been able to make this announcement today and get to where we are This work has been among some of the most challenging. I have certainly done in my life Every day is a full-on sprint as we look to place hundreds of people and find places for them every single day And I will just say I wish every New Yorker could be exposed to What it is like working for Deputy Mayor Williams Isom behind the scenes She has or sorry William Wallace has nothing on her when she is rallying the troops to the cause through her Spirit and and faith and so it's it's really been incredible working with you. So thank you I also share your deep concerns as the number of asylum seekers in New York City rises They all seek refuge and a new start and it has been and continues to be our duty to assist However, as we continue to make clear this cannot just be a city issue It's a national issue and we're using all available resources and we continue to call on the national governor government for support To accommodate and support this growing number of individuals. We're opening our latest humanitarian Emergency response and relief center. Thanks to the cooperation from New York State This center will provide not just a place to stay but also critical services to support these individuals on their journey At this center We're focusing on providing support to single adult men who are seeking asylum who have recently arrived in New York City It's important to note that while this is a large-scale effort It's also a deeply personal one each person We're helping is an individual with their own story and their own struggles as we begin to prepare the site We hope to have it operational as soon as early August This site was selected after thoughtful consideration and close coordination with New York State officials We evaluated multiple factors to make this decision Including minimizing disruption of existing services and programming and being in the best condition to quickly provide the services needed Upon completion this center will have the capacity to serve about 1,000 asylum seekers Replicating the range of services. We've been providing at our existing humanitarian relief centers This includes immediate access to medical aid meals and help with reconnections This facility will be climate controlled for comfort. The construction phase is projected to last a couple of weeks Let me close by saying this New York City is doing everything in its power to provide supportive Humanitarian services to these individuals during this challenging time But we really cannot do this alone. This is a national issue that demands federal support We are ready and hopeful for collaboration to ensure everyone gets the necessary support Now I'll turn it back over to our deputy mayor Williams Isom. Thank you. Thank you so much commissioner And you do make the point I do try to lead with love and with faith and with determination and make tough decisions and when this does get hard I get my hope by spending time with the migrants this morning I went to a site and I was able to see migrant children I shouldn't say migrant children children running around with the library very excited picking out books I saw volunteers of high school students here in New York City Who are volunteering at the site to make sure that people have the clothes that they need the support that they need I saw people asking for legal services and I know and I think that that's what gives me hope What we're doing here in New York City is what we've always done We've opening up our arms and we're trying to do the best that we can But I know that as we continue to get support from our federal delegation Which I am so grateful for as we continue to work with our state partners We can get through this but we can't get through it on our own And I think that if we all rally together if we all see what New York City is doing and replicate that We can get through this crisis with that. I will open it up for questions So with the contract from the the states is this one that the state recently procured and it's the state Going to be taking care of everything when it comes to these shelters including only building in the services staff and so forth And then one more question on there is a plan I've been hearing from your staff that to move migrants upstate just wondering how many migrants have been moved upstate What is that program look like how many spaces are available? Is that happening every week every day? Sure, so with over 93,000 people coming to us thus far We've always had a large plan about what are we going to do if what you know And how are we going to address each part of this so it is the state will be reimbursing us for this So we will do it as we've done every other Humanitarian Relief Center and they will reimburse us for the construction and for all the costs that are associated with that The upstate plan is the plan that we announced a couple of months ago Maybe now and remember when we had the Some executives here from upstate who have opened up their arms And so we're continuing to work with those that are the willing the best of the best of us to move people upstate I think the number is maybe over 1500 folks that are upstate right now But I'll make sure that we get that number for you and that in the original plan that we did in March called the asylum sequel blueprint The state said that they were going to work with us to relocate about 1200 families and so that work is continuing as we connect that to the legal clinic clinic that we opened a couple of Months ago to make sure that people are on their pathway to filling out their forms and so that they can get work authorization And then resettle Children and families upstate You're welcome Dr. Long yeah, so in terms of this of the specific numbers we've delivered over a hundred notices at this point And just to take a step back I want to emphasize about the 60-day notices that our focus and opportunity here is the case management part of all of this or in Other words how we can help you with where you are now as the deputy mayor said we've now taken care of more than 93,000 asylum seekers in New York City Among those 93,000 with our help more than around 40 percent have been able to take the next step forward in their journey and Exit our city system so we know what we what we know what to do We know how to be effective and we're applying those principles through case management in every discussion We're having now, but one of the things we're realizing is that when we're starting to have these discussions around the notices People are not surprised. In fact, they're coming to us with questions things. They need help with which is what we welcome So for example, we're hearing from asylum seekers that we've given notices to that they need help getting IDs They need help navigating how to travel. They need help even with specific types of legal services When we hear all of that feedback from them We can immediately put plans in place to meet them where they are and give them the specific help that they need so that they can Take the next step forward in their journey So as we go forward with our case management the opportunity is for us to learn at this stage of the asylum seeker crisis What exactly people's needs are which we're doing right now and we'll meet those needs to be as effective as we can be At some of the shelters with respect to So the way that I would answer that is it is something that we're very concerned about because the system is under an enormous amount of strain When you think about really doubling the amount of people who are in our care from when we first got here, right? That's about space. It's about personnel and people and it's about resources And so I think that we are so proud that we have not had anybody sleeping on the street But I think that you're right that there are places where we're like we got to make sure that we get the showers working We got to make sure that we have the food the way it needs to be We've got to make sure that people are getting, you know, the basic that that we want to make sure I think that's why we need help. I think that's why we keep on saying, you know, we're out of space We need support. We need more places 192 sites Liz, you know, there's gonna be a places where it's like, okay What's going on that this evening, you know commissioners that can speak to that because they're really overseeing some of those emergency respite centers But I think this is why we really feel like it's a national issue that needs some national support So that we could really have people in the places that they need to be nobody wants to be in a hotel Yeah, so we always have new policy ideas I say to people we've been planning from day one and we continue to plan We've had some great meetings with our federal delegation They've come and they visited and they've seen the amazing work that's going on at the Roosevelt I say amazing, but it's bittersweet, right when you walk in there And you see the hundreds of people who are waiting on chairs and the hundreds of people that come every day I think some are seeing something they didn't realize they thought that think since things were slowing down at the border That they've slowed down in New York City and that is just not the experience So I think the more people see it and feel it, you know, we see other people in this nation who are not treating migrants Well, I want people to see how well New York City is treating migrants But that we need help because we cannot do this on our own and that we really think a decompression strategy Allowing people to work would really help us and give some relief to these folks who have come here for the American dream Just your question, you know, just just piggybacking off what the deputy mayor said You know emergency management 101 is is the local jurisdiction is supposed to be able to turn to the state and the federal government for support When they have run out run run the course, right when they've run out of resources the ability to handle the emergency We've long passed that and so these issues that we're facing This is really because like we are at capacity. We've been saying this now for weeks if not months if not longer The last time the u.s. Had a migration crisis of this magnitude or one of them was the mariole Boatlift for Cuban refugees. That was a federally declared disaster The numbers that we're seeing in New York City are on par with the numbers of Cuban exiles and refugees that were coming into Florida and President Carter acted You know that lasted months, but the city has taken on something of that magnitude largely on its own A lot of counties and localities have moved to stop that from happening and there's Litigation in the works had any additional counties or localities opposite and said I would say yes, and yes, and I think as we continue to plan as I mentioned the Resettlement program that the state has agreed to there are definitely counties that have said we want more information We want to be able to work with you and so we're working with them in order to get that done So I'm I can give you that information after this, but I think that's what I just want to focus on There's many people who say no, but there's many more people who are saying yes And who see that this is an issue and want to stand up You want to start sure and then I'll clean it up You know we're gonna continue to to bail water and that's what we're doing and we're gonna continue to work every day Just the way we have been doing But it is a full-on sprint every single day looking for places to place people It's it's it's funny that he says a sprint because it's more like feels like a marathon that we've been trying to sprint Which is not anybody who's run a marathon know that we can't do that And so I think that we see in this country what it looks like when people are not treating migrants well We are treating migrants as best as we can and so we're gonna continue to do that And we're asking for the federal government to support us in this work that we're doing because we think that with a decompression Strategy and if people can work we will be able to manage this as a nation and I think people will be proud of that Would it be okay if I had something before sorry multitasking So just two points. I want to make first on the H&H specific Question around the RFP just to be crystal clear the RFP is for us continuing the same structure We have but putting it out to bid to see who the best staff members would be at my site They remain my site say H&H has complete control over management of all the sites complete responsibility I have somebody on site 24 7 none of that changes It's a standard contracting process to put out an RFP to continue staffing though on the point I just also want to make a point around, you know the strain that we're under so Every day is has the deputy mayor and the commissioner saying it gets harder and harder for us We're working 24 7 around the clock the arrival center We have families with children that are coming to us at midnight every night So we've for example opened up the ballrooms in our hotels trying to be creative in New York City trying to give people the dignified welcome That they deserve hoping we would never need to use these ballrooms tonight. We'll use every ballroom I have it's not because we want to it's because we have to given the strain that we're under Given the number of people coming in so even the most effective approaches that we have We need more help than we've been getting So the the people initially that we're giving the notices to or some are the people that have been in our system for the longest So we're doing delivering the notices on a rolling basis starting with the people that have been in our system for the longest So we'll get I think the point is we want to make space for families with children And so now we're looking at all of the tools that we can use in order to do it And we'll give you more information as things continue We'll see whether or not this works or it doesn't work But we're trying to do the best that we can so we can make room for families with children