New York City Mayor Eric Adams has defended a new pilot program to give migrants prepaid debit cards, saying it could save the city money.
“Adams spent a large portion of his weekly media availability on Tuesday defending the program, which could grow to cost the city $53 million, saying it will save the city money and eliminate food waste,” reported WPIX New York City.
The program could give up to 500 migrant families prepaid debit cards to purchase food and other supplies. Though rapper 50 Cent initially criticized the program, Eric Adams said he changed his position after the two shared a talk.
“People want to give the impression that we did this in the cloak of secrecy, that we’re not saving money, that’s just inaccurate,” Adams said.
Initially, rapper 50 Cent said former President Donald Trump might the “answer” upon learning of the program, as Breitbart News reported.
“The city awarded a $53 million emergency contract to MoCaFi, a financial services platform that has run similar programs in other cities, according to city records and Adams. The program would eventually cost $53 million once fully rolled out, and only about $2 million would go to MoCaFi, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright said,” WPIX New York City noted.
In a news conference, Adams called it a “small policy.”
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“I know on the first brush you look at it and say, ‘wait a minute, what are you doing, you’re giving people cards?’” Adams said. “This was a small policy shift that we’re doing on a pilot project with 500 people. If this is successful, we’re going to expand it even more.”
“We’ve been looking at this product, MoCaFi, and this concept for close to three years now,” Adams added. “This is not something that just popped up last year.”
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