Albany County’s executive says migrants’ arrival surprised him

With migrants from New York City now in Albany and Colonie, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy is questioning why New York City planned the migrants’ arrival at night, during a holiday weekend.

There’s been little to no communication from the New York City mayor, McCoy said.

A state of emergency exists right now in Albany County, requiring New York City to communicate before busing asylum seekers here. However, that is not what happened over the weekend, McCoy said.

Three buses arrived over Memorial Day weekend. One went to Colonie and two went to the city of Albany.

McCoy says the migrants are believed to mostly be single men in their 20s. 

New York City is currently covering all costs. However, McCoy is concerned that could eventually change. McCoy has said Albany County welcomes people seeking asylum, as long as the county is aware of when and where they are arriving.

McCoy blamed a lack of communication from the office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“Is this the story they want? This is not the story I want. I want to say here’s a model the rest of the county – the other 61 counties in the state of New York can utilize to do this the right way,” said McCoy. “They’re people and this nation was built on immigrants. My family immigrated from Canada. So it’s like you sit there and you go, ‘Let’s do this the right way.'”

McCoy confirmed the county is looking at hotels around the area as well as the SUNY campus in downtown Albany as possible sites where migrants could stay.