by: Bria Donohue
AIA New York, alongside New York Building Congress (NYBC), Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), and Subcontractors Trade Association (STA), is calling for the New York Congressional Delegation to assist New York with federal aid to address the current asylum seeker crisis. The financial burden on the City to support the unprecedented increase in migrants has led Mayor Adams to call for agency budget cuts of 15% by fiscal year 2025. These cuts will further exacerbate the challenges felt by agencies such as, DOB, DOT, DDC, HPD, and others due to existing staffing shortages and will severely impact work in the city done by the architecture, construction, and design communities. AIANY, NYBC, CHIP, and STA asked the NY Congressional Delegation to take this action by the Adams Administration as a sign of the severity of the situation and the dire need for assistance, and to push the Biden Administration and their colleagues in Congress to provide financial assistance to relieve the burden of this national crisis.