Mayor Eric Adams lashed out at state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Thursday after New York’s chief fiscal officer faulted him for not including the $1 billion-plus cost of the migrant crisis in his proposed city budget.
“Can you ask the comptroller to show you the letter he wrote to the federal government asking for help for us?” Adams fumed during a news conference at City Hall.
“Can you get him on his cell phone, speakerphone and say, ‘Can you send us the letter that you sent to the federal government saying: Help New York City? Or send us a tweet or do an Instagram post with a sign?'”
The exasperated mayor continued: “I mean, can you believe it? We’re the only ones that are saying, ‘Federal government, do your job.’ But everyone is telling us to do our job, which we are doing every day.”
Adams also said that if DiNapoli “believes I’m not doing a good enough job, then I think he should be part of this team calling for the federal government to do their job.”
Hizzoner’s ire was sparked by a statement in which DiNapoli faulted Adams’ proposed $102.7 billion budget for fiscal 2024 because it doesn’t “reflect the anticipated recurring costs associated with asylum seekers, which remains one of a number risks the city will have to grapple with.”
Mayor Eric Adams spoke out against New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli for criticizing his proposed budget. Paul Martinka“The city must lay out these and other risks transparently so that it may continue to plan and identify new ways to close these gaps without harming services, which would be counterproductive to the city, and state’s, economic recovery,” DiNapoli added.
In addition to singling out DiNapoli, Adams appeared to take a shot at members of the city council, with whom held a virtual meeting before his news conference.
“Where are their letters that they wrote to governmental entities to help New York City? Helpin’ New York City is not saying, ‘Spend more of taxpayers’ dollars,'” he said. “I just want one letter, one tweet — maybe y’all could find a tweet, did you see one?”
Adams added: “So, I need help. And that was one of the No. 1 things I said to all my colleagues: I need you to join me in telling the federal government: New York taxpayers don’t deserve this.”
Sources familiar with that meeting told The Post that Adams repeatedly demanded that council members put heat on the White House and federal officials to provide more funding to the city.
DiNapoli said Adams’ budget did not “reflect the anticipated recurring costs associated with asylum seekers.” REUTERS/Brendan McDermid“He said, ‘I hear you all making demands about the migrants. I need you to reciprocate those demands to the federal government,'” one source said.
Adams also told the council members that homeless shelters needed to be distributed more equitably throughout the city, another source said.
Adams had repeatedly called for $1 billion in emergency federal aid to pay for the cost of housing and providing services to the nearly 40,000 migrants who’ve flooded into the Big Apple since the spring.
Adams has asked for $1 billion in federal funding to help with the migrant crisis. Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty ImagesBut the city has only received less than $8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and another $2 million allocated by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Budget Director Jacques Jiha told reporters during an afternoon briefing.
Last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to commit to providing the city with the additional money when asked by The Post.
Instead, she said only that the Department of Homeland Security will be “increasing funding available to border cities and those cities receiving an influx of migrants.”





