Judge Expands Order Barring NYC Migrant Plans From Rockland

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY —A New York State Supreme Court Judge expanded his preliminary injunction temporarily prohibiting New York City from transporting anyone in temporary shelter in New York City to any location in Rockland to be used as a shelter, including but not limited to the Armoni Inn & Suites.

The county is embroiled in lawsuits with the city and the hotel over the city's"decompression" plan to temporarily house some of the thousands of asylum-seekers that have arrived in NYC in the past six months outside the city limits.

Rockland was the first county approached, and the first to declare a state of emergency and go to court to stop it. The emergency order was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge; Rockland plans to appeal, said County Executive Ed Day.

Meanwhile, Judge Thomas Zugibe at the state level, where the lawsuits over the city's plan and issues about shelters, hotels and zoning regulations are under scrutiny, ordered the county and attorneys for NYC into his courtroom on Wednesday.

"We are appreciative of the court’s agreement with our filing which now prohibits the City from attempting to utilize any other Rockland locations as shelters, including but no longer limited to the Armoni Inn and Suites," Rockland County Attorney Thomas Humbach said in an announcement about the ruling.

"New York City and Mayor Eric Adams are not trustworthy; they still have not contacted my administration with any details of their plans as required by NYS policy. They have continued to blindside officials and municipalities throughout the state with their illegal decompression strategy," Day said. "This expanded restraining order will keep Mayor Adams from overstepping his authority and prevent any further attempts to break local building and zoning laws and violate New York State Social Services rules and regulations."

Rockland's planned appeal contesting the Federal Court’s decision staying enforcement of the local emergency order will argue that it just prohibited other municipalities from bringing and housing people in the county without planning that program with the cooperation of the county to ensure the interests of the county’s residents and the interests of those people being relocated are addressed. The order also required that other municipalities prove that any such individuals would be fully cared and paid for in the short and long-term, Rockland officials said.

It was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge. According to the ruling, the emergency orders issued by Rockland and Orange counties "expressly" classify persons "based on national origin and alienage."

"The Court agrees with Plaintiffs that there is enough on the record and as reflected during the oral argument that invidious, discriminatory concerns was one of the motivating factors for the issuance of the Rockland EO," District Court Judge Nelson S. Roman wrote, issuing a preliminary injunction barring Rockland County and Orange County from enforcing their broad emergency orders that aimed to ban migrants from hotels.

The federal ruling does not affect the issues in the lawsuits in state court, Roman emphasized.

"My team and I are continuing to develop strategies in service to the people of Rockland," Day said. "We will not stop fighting against New York City’s discriminatory decompression strategy and will provide more information once our plans and these potential actions are fully developed."

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