In a sign that the massive influx of migrants into New York City in recent months could spread to Long Island, Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar on Tuesday declared a state of emergency that prohibits facilities within the town from taking in migrants and other asylum-seekers.
The state of emergency declaration — an executive order — asserts that “all hotels, motels, bed and breakfast facilities, inns, cottages, campgrounds or any other transient lodging units and/or facilities allowing short term rentals do not accept said migrants and/or asylum seekers for housing” within the town.
Town officials said in a statement that the “health and safety of the residents of Riverhead remains Supervisor Aguiar’s primary concern and top priority,” and suggested that Riverhead, in contrast to other county municipalities, cannot “withstand further demand on our public services.”
“Relative to the surrounding townships on the East End and throughout Suffolk County, Riverhead has done more than its share when it comes to housing the homeless, providing services and offering affordable housing and our resources and taxpayers simply cannot withstand further demand on our public services,” the statement said.
Town officials said in the statement that the declaration of a state of emergency was based on information that the New York City Department of Homeless Services “has or will be arranging for the transportation and relocation of undocumented immigrants and/or asylum seekers to hotels and motels within the Town of Riverhead.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said this week in a 1010 WINS radio interview that about 65,000 migrants and asylum-seekers have arrived in the five boroughs in the past year, stretching the city’s social services and shelter housing resources to the breaking point.
Although there are scores of so-called sanctuary cities around the country, New York City is the only major municipality in the nation which guarantees shelter to anyone seeking it.
In the executive order, Ms. Aguiar notes that in and around Riverhead there are currently “an estimated 224 overcrowded apartments or over-occupied homes,” as well as “91 unlawful apartments … 35 unsafe buildings … two large-scale, non-transient homeless shelters … 14 sober homes … and three outdoor homeless encampments.”
The order goes on to assert that “there is nothing humanitarian about a sanctuary city sending busloads of people to a rural [t]own that does not have the infrastructure to care for them, especially since social services funding is not applicable to undocumented individuals …”
A violation of an executive order is a class B misdemeanor under article 2-B, section 24 of the State Executive Law, according to Town Attorney Erik Howard, which can be punished with fines and/or a term of incarceration up to 90 days.
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