COLONIE — The town’s supervisor sent a lengthy statement out Saturday alleging that at least one bus of asylum seekers driven from New York City was scheduled to arrive at a motel in Colonie this weekend without the Albany County executive’s office being notified — which was part of an executive order the county issued earlier in the week.
Colonie Supervisor Peter Crummey said in his statement that he was notified late Friday “by our Albany County Executive
that NYC Mayor Adams has unilaterally directed at least one busload of migrants from New York City to arrive this
weekend at the Sure Stay Best Western Motel on Wolf Road in Colonie.”
He alleged that another location nearby off Computer Drive was rejected because of its location in the suburb.
“Notwithstanding that the Wolf Road area has no services necessary to service an influx of persons of unknown health, dietary, and behavioral histories,” wrote Crummey; the supervisor didn’t expound on what he meant by “behavioral histories.”
The supervisor noted that Albany County Executive Dan McCoy’s executive order May 23 required that the county be notified to coordinate housing for migrants and asylum seekers being transported here, and that only the county social services commissioner could issue licenses to hotels, motels or other dwellings to house groups of people.
“While that order did not necessarily exclude the possibility of migrants being housed within the County, it distinctly required a collaborated and coordinated deliberate plan amongst State, County and Local officials as well as non-profit organizations. The County Executive’s statement
concerning his order specifically confirms this approach rather than ‘a unilateral decision of one city,'” wrote Crummey, a Republican.
Crummey also said the Wolf Road motel where asylum seekers might be placed has had more than 200 police calls to it in the past 18 months.
“(Mayor Adams) refusal to respect our County Executive’s Order places the public health, safety and welfare of our residents and those migrants on his bus in jeopardy,” the statement read.
Crummey also points his frustration at the city of Albany, although it’s unclear from the statement what role, if any, he is alleging city officials had in the coordination of moving migrant people to shelter in Colonie.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan shortly followed late Saturday night with a statement that read: “For the Colonie Town Supervisor to say that the City of Albany had a hand in steering the bus to a hotel on Wolf Road is an outright lie.”
Sheehan said in recent days she “has been in contact with New York City officials to identify hotels within the City of Albany that could provide housing and connect them with a vast network of local community-based organizations that offer additional services to asylum seekers.”
“The facts are the City of New York put asylum seekers on a bus and chose Wolf Road. The City of New York is paying for those hotel rooms, as well as the food and services needed,” wrote Sheehan, a Democrat.
“As a fellow elected official, I do hope the Colonie Town Supervisor shares my belief that these asylum seekers are guests in our communities and their well-being must be a priority for all of us.”
The one fact not specifically addressed in either officials’ statement is if the motel having an Albany zip code is why an entity allegedly chose that location to house people; in the Capital Region many zip codes have a location name — but the actual municipality the zip code is in is different.
Some upstate communities have had to swiftly deal with migrants and asylum seekers being bused from New York City as the city itself struggles with how to house and care for the thousands who have arrived there.
It was unclear late Saturday night when, or even if, people will still bused to the motel in Colonie.
This is an initial report. Check back with the Times Union Sunday as the story evolves.
Steve Hughes contributed to this report.