CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. -- Jewish Family Services of Western New York said it has been in ongoing negotiations and discussions with New York City for the past couple of months regarding the final scope of work it would do on a Coordinated Entry Program for hundreds of migrants the city bused to Erie County more than a year ago.

JFS said a finalized contract is still pending but Mayor Eric Adams' administration notified the non-profit a few weeks ago it could resume work in hotel shelters in Amherst and Cheektowaga, including case management and housing placements. State Sen. Sean Ryan confirmed the process of finding more permanent housing is underway.

"I just know that the money's flowing and they've been authorized to spend it and be reimbursed," he said.

But that process has clearly moved more slowly than originally expected. JFS said it completed an initial agreement with New York City in the summer but could not move forward with placing people in more permanent housing until a more definitive agreement was in place.

New York City announced in the spring it was ending its agreement with original contractor DocGo, who had been responsible for the relocation and care of migrants across upstate. However, DocGo has continued its work in the interim with the city now saying it will close all hotel shelters before the end of the year.

Many of the people living in them may go back downstate.

"It's all up to the folks," Ryan said. "They could go somewhere else. A lot of people have relatives here. Some people have left to go to other states or other parts of the state. It's up to the people where they want to end up."

It's not completely clear how many people are still in the Erie County hotels. According to the town of Cheektowaga, as of Nov. 1, there were roughly 245 at two locations.

Others remain at another hotel in Amherst. JFS said so far it has moved several families into permanent housing with more moving this week.

It said it is focused on moving people out of hotels, but time is running short

“Throughout this process, JFS staff has been in constant communications and regularly visiting with the asylees during this ongoing and difficult situation. This continues to remain a fluid situation and in the coming weeks we hope to receive further clarification from New York City," JFS said in a statement.

The organization is looking to work with local landlords in Erie and Niagara counties who have rental units available with easy access to public transit.