Mayor Eric Adams is ending his administration’s controversial program supplying migrants in taxpayer-funded shelters with prepaid debit cards to pay for groceries.
The pilot program, launched in March under an emergency contract with New Jersey-based tech startup Mobility Capital Finance, in total doled out $2.4 million in preloaded Mastercards to some 2,600 migrant families for food, City Hall officials said.
Mayor Eric Adams is ending his administration’s controversial program supplying migrants in city shelters with prepaid debit cards to pay for groceries. Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
A family of four received about $350 a week to cover the cost of groceries and baby supplies as part of the pilot program. NY Post compositeAdams on Thursday announced he wouldn’t be renewing the initiative after it expires in January, with officials noting the dwindling numbers of asylum seekers in shelters and saying the city wants to move away from much-criticized no-bid emergency contracting.
“As we move towards more competitive contracting for asylum seeker programs, we have chosen not to renew the emergency contract for this pilot program once the one-year term concludes,” Adams’ office said in a statement.
MoCaFi’s $53 million, one-year “emergency” contract, revealed by The Post, drew backlash — including from rapper 50 Cent — because the city failed to conduct a typical bidding process before picking the company.
New York City has handed out $3.2 million in prepaid debit cards to some 2,600 migrant families. Robert MillerThe company distributed the preloaded Mastercards to asylum seekers at hotels-turned-shelters, with a family of four receiving about $350 a week to cover the cost of groceries and baby supplies.
Since the spring, the number of migrants in city care has dwindled to about 60,000 people, city officials noted.
The pilot program total cost about $3.4 million, including taxes and fees, with $2.4 million being injected into the local economy by migrants using the cards for groceries, officials said.
Migrants leave the Roosevelt Hotel at 45th Street and Madison Avenue. Kevin C Downs forThe New York PostA rep told The Post concern of migrants using the cards for unapproved items were unfounded with no instances of fraud found.
The program was meant to both trim costs and reduce food waste associated with the city’s boxed-meal delivery service program. City officials said a lot of the food in the boxed meals was tossed out, and that allowing migrants to choose what they wanted to eat would cut back on waste.
The Adams administration said the no-bid emergency contract was awarded to avoid delays in rolling out the cost-saving program.
City Comptroller Brad Lander has since revoked the city’s ability to award such deals for migrant services.
