NYC wants to hire private security for migrant centers
New York City NY July 11, 2023
City Hall wants to hire private security guards to patrol the Big Apple’s packed migrant facilities — a gig considered too “volatile” and “dangerous” by even trained peace officers, The Post has learned.
“There are migrants who are gang members in these facilities,” said Gregory Floyd, the head of Teamsters Local 237, whose peace-officer union members typically protect schools, college campuses and hospitals.
“It’s volatile. It’s dangerous. We don’t know if all these migrants are properly vetted. My members are unarmed,” he said.
NYC Health + Hospitals, which oversees a dozen Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, issued a request for bids Friday to spend tax dollars on private guards for the more than 50,000 migrants in its care.
The cost for the added coverage is not clear, but the HERRC sites and other services for the booming population of migrant asylum-seekers are already costing New York City taxpayers nearly $8 million a day, according to city officials. Mayor Eric Adams has estimated that the price tag for the recent crisis could total $4.5 billion by next June.
NYPD cops have been seen at least some of the migrant facilities, but the department is struggling with a staffing crunch as officers feel “squeezed from every direction” thanks to such issues as forced overtime and burdensome oversight, the city’s police union told The Post over the weekend.
City Hall did not respond to a request for comment from The Post on Sunday about the contract request.
According to the request for proposals, the city is looking for a private contractor “as a response to the mass influx of asylum seekers arriving in New York.
“The primary role of security is to ensure the safety of guests and staff while creating a welcome, safe place for all individuals on the site,” the request said. “The HERRC protocols and procedures surrounding safety must be enforced.”
While there have been concerns about the safety of migrant children mixing with single men at the shelters, there have been no reports of crimes or safety issues at the HERRC sites. The NYPD did not respond to a Post request for comment about potential crimes or security issues at the city’s other 179 migrant sites.
The Big Apple’s top GOP pol raised questions about the city’s bid to hire guards.
“On the one hand, the city is telling people how safe these migrant centers are in their neighborhoods,” City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli told the Post on Sunday. “At the same time, the city is spending millions of dollars to keep people safe at the migrant facilities.”
New York City has already seen more than 84,000 migrants processed through its local intake centers, with the HERRC sites and nearly 180 hastily opened emergency centers beyond capacity, city officials said.
Last week, Adams pitched a controversial plan to house migrants at city schools while the facilities are empty during the summer, drawing fierce criticism from local elected officials.
He also suggested using Gracie Mansion as a shelter — only to later say it was a symbolic offer.
Adams has shipped busloads of migrants to hotels in upstate New York and on Long Island, too, sparking pushback — and even legal action — from officials in those communities who said they have security concerns that local cops would be hard-pressed to handle.
“The No. 1 concern I hear from people in our city is public safety, yet instead of hiring more cops, he is spending taxpayers’ money on more services for migrants,” Malliotakis told The Post.
“The city is short cops and detectives, so those we have are being overworked, which only intensifies the stress and pressure that’s driving cops to retire and leave for other municipalities,” she said. “[City officials] have gone from defund the police to driving them out.”
