NYC finally unlocks rest of $107M in federal migrant aid after months of paperwork delays

President Biden’s administration is set to approve the release of more than $100 million in migrant aid for New York City after Mayor Adams’ office finally submitted the required paperwork last week following months of delays, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office told the Daily News on Thursday.

The aid — which has sat untouched since Congress first allocated it last summer — is at long last being authorized for disbursement to the city after Adams’ administration provided the feds last Friday with required budgetary documentation as well as a waiver asking the feds to relax a cap on how much of the money can be used on hotel costs, said Schumer’s office.

City Hall confirmed the expected release of the funds.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the program that includes the outstanding aid for the city, is set to formally approve the waiver Friday afternoon, said Schumer’s office, which has served as a liaison between the mayor’s team and FEMA.

Under existing rules, only 10% of the total aid earmarked for the city can be used to cover costs related to housing migrants in hotels. FEMA is expected to bump that figure up to 15% in response to the Adams administration’s waiver request, clearing the way for the city to receive the full pot of aid, according to Schumer’s team.

The White House and FEMA did not immediately return requests for comment. The expected release of the money comes after FEMA dispatched an application assistance team to the city earlier this month to help the mayor’s team with filing the correct paperwork.

The long-delayed aid for the city became a flashpoint earlier this month when a Biden administration official told The News that the money wasn’t being released because the mayor’s team had failed for months to submit the correct paperwork. The official described the mayor’s administration as having “not stepped up to the plate.”

That comment drew a sharp rebuke from the mayor, who argued the feds’ application requirements are far too complicated and not considerate of the crisis the city’s facing in trying to shelter and provide services for tens of thousands of mostly Latin American migrants. The mayor has also blasted the feds for not providing more aid, noting that about $100 million is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the more than $4 billion the city has spent so far on the local migrant crisis.

The latest federal migrant aid disbursement comes after the Biden administration released about $49 million to the city last year to help it tackle the crisis.