County Clarifies Emergency Declaration

By CASPAR EWIG
OTSEGO COUNTY

What we’ve got here,” said the jail warden in “Cool Hand Luke,” “is failure to communicate.” According to Steve Wilson, Otsego County administrator, this comment aptly describes the present state of affairs resulting in the county’s issuance of the State of Emergency Declaration and Emergency Order No. 1 with regard to housing migrants in Otsego County.

“Our actions were a response to the extremely chaotic situation created by the way New York City was handling the migrant crisis,” Wilson added. “No one reached out to us and gave us any indication of what we might be faced with.”

He said the only information that was available to the county was that which was published in the newspapers, and what appeared in Governor Kathy Hochul’s Executive Order 28 declaring a state of emergency for New York State.

“Added to the existing migrant flow, we were faced with the expectation that elimination of Title 42 would make it worse,” Wilson explained.

New York City officials denied that they failed to reach out and ask other counties to share in the responsibility to house migrants. In a litigation filed on June 7 against 30 upstate counties seeking to overturn their exclusionary policies—including Otsego County—city officials allege that the office of Mayor Eric Adams “emailed a letter addressed to ‘Mayors, County Executives, and Municipal Leaders’ describing the City’s efforts to address the sudden influx of asylum-seekers and asking for their assistance.”

However, Wilson stated he, as administrator, had not seen such an e-mail, and neither Otsego County Board

Board Chairman David Bliss nor Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek found such correspondence in their official e-mail folders. Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh did not confirm or deny receipt of an e-mail from New York City officials, but said general updates on the migrant situation were made by the governor via weekly phone calls arranged by the New York Conference of Mayors.

In the end effect, Wilson said the county’s concern was that an orderly process be established to address any influx of additional persons who would be homeless. At present, Otsego County already relies on a number of motels to shelter the county’s existing homeless population, and there is a real concern that bringing in additional homeless people and having the New York City possibly paying higher housing rates would disrupt the county’s operation.

Furthermore, as Chairman Bliss noted, while public reports stated that New York City was prepared to absorb the living costs of the migrants for four months, those unofficial statements were lacking details and did not address what steps might be taken to avoid a stress on the county’s resources thereafter. That stress is unavoidable under the law, since asylum seekers are prevented from filing for a federal employment authorization document for six months after requesting asylum and because it takes an additional two to five months for such authorization to be approved.

It was for the purpose of controlling and overseeing those potential future commitments that Bliss’ Emergency Order No. 1, issued last month, provided for a licensing procedure. Under that order, no hotel, motel or multiple dwelling would be permitted to contract with New York City to house migrants without satisfying the licensing authority (in this instance, the Otsego County Department of Health). It stipulates as well that New York City would support, and have the means to support, the migrants during their stay in Otsego County as well as to assure their exodus after the funding support expired.

Wilson emphasized that even prior to being advised of the lawsuit, Otsego County did not intend to avoid its obligations. County officials, he said, had been in the process of establishing a working group consisting of the heads of the health, social services, and various other county departments whose purpose is to explore and make recommendations as to the capacity of the various towns and villages of Otsego County to house and support migrants.

“I am sure if a group of migrants arrived, the people of Otsego County would rise to the occasion. But we also want to make sure local residents don’t get hurt in the process,” Wilson added.

Such willingness of Otsego County municipalities to assist and welcome migrants is reflected in a resolution by the Cooperstown Board of Trustees passed in 2016 and revised and readopted in 2019 that decried any discrimination against immigrants and refugees.