The City adjusted funds in its Financial Plan over the course of FY 2024 to meet the expenses associated with providing shelter to people seeking asylum. Costs are primarily driven by two variables: the growth in the number of households seeking shelter and the average per diem rate of providing shelter and services.
Funding for Services to People Seeking Asylum, OMB Financial Plans
| Plan ($ In Millions) | FY 2023 (Actuals) | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 | $1,454 | $2,905 | $1,003 | – | – | – | $5,362 |
| November 2023 | $1,474 | $4,720 | $6,102 | $2,000 | $1,000 | – | $15,296 |
| January 2024 | $1,474 | $4,219 | $4,873 | $2,500 | $1,500 | – | $14,566 |
| April 2024 | $1,474 | $3,756 | $4,748 | $4,000 | $3,000 | – | $16,978 |
| June 2024 | $1,474 | $3,791 | $4,748 | $4,000 | $3,000 | $850 | $17,863 |
Source: Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget
The City of New York spent $1.47 billion for asylum seeker shelter and services in the fiscal year that ended in June 2023, with $438 million to be reimbursed by the State. Through August 31, 2024, the City committed $3.07 billion in FY 2024, with $1.3 billion planned to be reimbursed by the state.
Funding for Services to People Seeking Asylum, June 2024 Financial Plan
| ($ In Millions) | FY 2023 (Actuals) | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | $1,036 | $2,327 | $3,431 | $3,000 | $2,000 | $500 | $12,274 |
| State | $438 | $1,307 | $1,317 | $1,000 | $1,000 | $350 | $5,411 |
| Federal | $0 | $157 | $157 | ||||
| Total | $1,474 | $3,791 | $4,748 | $4,000 | $3,000 | $850 | $17,863 |
Source: Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget
In its August 15th Comments on the New York City Fiscal Year 2025 Adopted Budget, the Comptroller’s Office projected that total FY 2024 spending would be $3.76 billion, slightly less than the Administration’s FY 2024 estimate in the June 2024 Financial Plan.
Spending
Spending for asylum seekers can be portrayed over different time periods and by different measures. The Administration estimates the amount spent by type and agency through the City Council’s Terms and Conditions, and are published monthly. Traditionally, the City’s Financial Management System (FMS) is the primary source for spending information. The Terms and Conditions are used to share timely and regular information of the Administration’s estimate, since FMS is subject to delays from processing, particularly those related to the emergency procurement process.
AS Spending ($ in Millions)
Note: FY 2024 and 2025 figures are preliminary data through 8/31/2024. Administration Estimated represents the Administration’s estimated expenditure amount on asylum seekers as reported to the City Council. Liquidated represents the expenditure amount that has been distributed, including drawdown of the prior year payable. Remaining Prior Year Payable is the FY 2023 payable amount that has yet to be distributed. Remaining Committed is the expenditure amount shown in FMS and includes and pre-encumbrances, encumbrances, and unliquidated. The Remaining Budget in FY 2024 is the total amount included in the most recent City budget for asylum seekers and subtracts commitments and liquidations. $5 million in FY 2024 represents remaining committed.
Of the total FY 2023 expended amount, $563 million was set up as a payable, meaning it was anticipated to be paid to vendors for services received that year but had not yet been paid at the time of the fiscal close. As of the end of August 2024, only $75.6 million of the FY 2023 payable amount was cleared. Additional information on the FY 2024 payable will be available after New York City’s FY 2024 financial reporting is complete.
Per FMS, $3.07 billion has been spent in FY 2024 through August 2024, compared to the $3.7 billion reported as expended in the Terms and Conditions.
State and Federal Funding
The State’s FY 2025 Enacted Budget was passed on April 20, 2024. It commits $2.4 billion in further support for asylum seekers, most of which will flow through the City’s budget. The City’s FY 2025 Adopted Budget included $3.7 billion in state funding from FY 2025-2028, which is $350 million more/less than the FY 2025 Executive Plan.
The FY 2025 Adopted Budget includes $157 million in federal funding in FY 2024 – the same as the FY 2025 Executive Plan. Of this budgeted amount, $48.9 million is from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), and $107 million from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program (SSP), with the remaining one million dollars from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) health-related grants. Since the Adopted Budget was released, additional FEMA funds have been awarded, with allocations of $38.9 million, $20.4 million, and $22.2 million. As of August 31, 2024, the City has received payments of $74.4 million towards the allocated amounts.
As noted in our Preliminary Budget report, the SSP program has many stringent reimbursement requirements. While the Federal government has signaled it will waive a cap on hotel spending, other documentation hurdles remain.[1]
Projections of Asylum Seeker Shelter Census
In its May 22nd report on the FY 2025 Executive Budget, the Comptroller’s Office updated projections using shelter census figures from February 1, 2024, through April 28, 2024. This period was chosen to capture the impact of 60-day notices to vacate issued to families with children in non-DHS facilities expiring (beyond a one-time decline following initial expirations on January 9th). This date range also begins to capture the impact of changes to single adult 30 and 60-day notices from the Right to Shelter stipulation of settlement which went into effect on April 8th. These changes net to a decrease of 2.3 households per day, which the Office applied through FY 2025 to estimate the future population census. The population is held flat for FYs 2026 through 2028.
Since the estimates on April 28, 2024, the population has decreased more than expected, by an average of 12 households per day. As of September 15, there are an estimated 23,500 households in NYC funded shelter, nearly 10,250 less than the City’s most recent estimate and 1,500 less than the Comptroller’s estimate.
Updated Comptroller Projection of Asylum Seeker Shelter Census (Households)
Source: Office of the New York City Comptroller; Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget
Note: Shelter census includes all households seeking asylum in City-funded shelters including those in DHS-operated shelters, HERRCs, and other facilities. Number of households are estimates based on actual shelter census and average household sizes provided by the Office of Management and Budget.
Note: A household can be a family with children, adults living together as a family (adult parent with an adult child or adults living as partners without children) or a single adult living alone.
Per Diem
Daily cost (or the per diem per household) is made up of two primary components, housing and non-housing costs. The Comptroller’s Office examined these hotel and service costs in a July 2024 report. As of January 2024, DHS had procured 161 emergency shelters in hotels through a combination of nonprofit service providers and a contract administered by the Hotel Association of NYC (HANYC). While a small number of the nonprofit providers subcontract directly with a hotel provider, most of the registered contracts are for services only while hotel rooms are procured separately via the HANYC contract.
The below table shows average room rates by borough (plus the city of Yonkers, where the City houses some asylum seekers) for the HANYC shelter sites. The average per diem is $156.
HANYC Hotel Room Rates by Borough
| Borough | Shelters Per Borough | Average Daily Per Diem |
|---|---|---|
| Bronx | 17 | $141 |
| Brooklyn | 30 | $146 |
| Manhattan | 19 | $185 |
| Queens | 48 | $148 |
| Staten Island | 4 | $131 |
| Yonkers | 1 | $175 |
| Total | 119 | $156 |
Source: New York City Mayor’s Office, Office of the New York City Comptroller. Data as of January 2024
The Comptroller’s Office found:
- In Fiscal Year 2024, the average daily rate paid by DHS for hotel rooms under the HANYC contract was $156. Contracted room rates are generally in line with market data of comparable hotels.
- These hotel rates are substantially more expensive than the daily rental per-diem for standard DHS shelters, which the Comptroller’s Office has estimated to be approximately $52. However, that is because those shelters typically have longer leases and/or use City-owned property
- The average daily cost of services beyond shelter (i.e., all non-rent expenditures) for asylum-seekers in DHS shelters was $176. This amount is only slightly higher than in non-emergency shelters.
- The daily all-in cost of DHS emergency hotel shelters of $332 is substantially lower than the cost of shelter and services contracted by other City agencies (H+H, NYCEM, HPD), estimated to be $404.
- The combination of the non-emergency DHS service per diem and the average HANYC hotel rate, for a total of $306 per day likely represents a floor for the provision of shelter in hotels. This is 24% less than the estimate of $404 for non-DHS emergency sites – a significant opportunity for cost savings.
More recently, in the August Term and Condition, the average per diem cost was $371 including all asylum seeker expenses across agencies, down from $377 in May 2024.
[1] https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/03/14/nyc-finally-unlocks-rest-of-over-100m-in-federal-migrant-aid-after-months-of-paperwork-delays/