Mayor Eric Adams was more focused on the money the city has already lost than the on federal funding the city could lose. 

“Yes, we’re going to fight to make sure D.C. doesn't short-change, us but Albany just short-changed us," he said Tuesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Amid questions over potential federal cuts, Mayor Eric Adams railed about a lack of state funding for city programs 

  • During his weekly question-and-answer session with reporters on Tuesday, he again said the state short-changed the city when it came to childcare vouchers and migrant funding 

  • On Friday, Adams announced the city would be closing the Asylum Seeker Help Center amid a lack of state funding 

The mayor again criticized state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul for not funding critical city programs in the recently finalized state budget. 

The comments came after Adams was asked about possible federal funding cuts from the Trump administration. 

“We didn’t get a billion dollars for the migrant and asylum seekers. We’re losing $300 million for childcare vouchers. So I just need a consistency that whomever is taking stuff away from New York City we need to be vociferous about it," he said.

On Friday, the mayor announced that the city’s Asylum Application Help Center would close due to a lack of funds. 

Adams has placed the money woes on the state who he had hoped would provide a billion more in funding this year. 

But the governor’s office pushed back on Tuesday.

“The number of weekly migrant arrivals has declined by 95% and the City has more than $2 billion from the State that they have yet to draw from, which is why this year’s budget did not include additional funding.,"  Press Secretary Avi Small wrote in a statement.

A City Hall official said they are actively working on drawing down the remaining funds but additional funds would’ve been helpful toward the overall multi-billions already spent. 

“They knew how important it was. They knew that was part of the billion dollars and they’re not funding it. So we can’t pickup the task," Adams said. “We spent $7.7 billion. How much more do New Yorkers have to pay.” 

Separately, the city received $200 million in federal funds but $80 million was rescinded in Feburary and the federal government has threatened to potentially take back more. 

“I think the state should’ve given us the billion dollars so that we can finish out this process that we’ve done an excellent job in doing so," Adams said.

The center helped over 109,000 migrants apply for asylum, work authorization, and Temporary Protected Status.

More than 38,000 migrants are in the city’s care and the city is still operating 170 emergency shelter sites.