On New York City’s NBC affiliate WNBC on Monday, NBC 4 New York Political and Government Affairs Reporter Melissa Russo stated that New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and his aides continue to refuse to acknowledge migrants in the city’s care are going hungry despite public reporting on the subject.
Russo said, “It’s been five days since we first asked the Adams administration about babies of asylum seekers going hungry in the city’s care. And since Friday, we’ve been airing interviews with desperate parents at several different shelters unable to work or collect public assistance. They all say their homeless hotels are not providing enough food, especially baby food, no formula, and not enough milk. They say their infants are losing weight, denied refills of milk, and asking for more food, which they sometimes can get at food pantries, which are struggling to keep up with the demand.”
After playing a clip of Adams saying at a press conference on Monday that “We are fulfilling every standard in the area of making sure that people are fed.” Russo stated, “So far, Mayor Eric Adams and his aides have not publicly acknowledged any issue with hungry babies.”
Russo then played a clip of Adams claiming he hasn’t “heard those reports.” She pointed out that “we made them aware while reporting the story last week.”
She added that whenever Adams faces criticism about conditions in shelters, he says the city is “facing an unprecedented challenge, working 24/7 to meet the huge needs of this surge in migrants.”
Russo concluded the report by playing a clip of Adams saying that he’ll talk with his shelter team about the issues. Later, she tweeted a statement from the city Department of Social Services that said, “We take any concerns of food shortages at shelter sites very seriously and are committed to investigating any such concerns.” And that “shelters maintain supplies of formula.”
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