NYC Drops Suit Against Riverhead Over Migrant Crisis: Supervisor

RIVERHEAD, NY — New York City has dropped a lawsuit against the Town of Riverhead in regard to the migrant crisis that sparked Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar to issue state of emergency declarations, preventing asylum seekers from flooding the community.

At a press conference Thursday, Aguiar said that New York City had officially filed a notice of voluntary discontinuance; that notice, issued by the New York State Supreme Court, County of Suffolk was dated September 13.

Aguiar's emergency orders, which commenced on May 16, had been renewed weekly.

"The executive order/state of emergency became necessary, when I became aware that New York City planned to bus asylum seekers to our hotels and other lodging facilities within the Town of Riverhead on May 16, 2023," Aguir said.

Aguiar stated that New York City officials were in the process of busing homeless asylum seekers to Riverhead to be housed in local hotels for periods "in excess of what is permitted in our town code and without rental permits."

She added that "not only would this type of emergency housing be in violation of our codes, in addition, it would limit hotel space during our busiest tourist season, thereby threatening the existing local jobs and the economy our community depends on. Further, the town was not notified or consulted in connection with New York City’s plan, and we would have been unable to accommodate these individuals."

Aguiar asserted that the town needed to be protected from NYC’s "poor decisions" and not, in her opinion, appropriately addressing the humanitarian crisis.

The executive order/state of emergency declaration prohibited hotels and other short term lodging facilities from accepting homeless individuals, specifically asylum seekers, to the Town of Riverhead and further directed that homeless shelters in town not displace its own homeless population.

"The executive order was necessary to protect our town residents as well as asylum seekers from being housed in violation of our town code," Aguiar said.

New York City officials then commenced litigation to have the local executive order vacated.

"I am glad that this chapter has concluded and that our actions in protecting our community from the fallout created by New York City’s chaos for the asylum seekers, and attempt to mitigate this federal issue in Riverhead, has come to a close," she said.

All towns should be afforded their own home rule, she said, thanking city officials for understanding Riverhead’s individual town zoning statutes, as well as those across other towns statewide.

"Furthermore, this is a humanitarian crisis, which must be addressed by the federal government and New York City," she said.

Aguiar will not seek re-election when her term has finished.

"Although I am not running for office in 2024. I have, and will, continue to work tirelessly until December 31, 2023, to protect my community, including the homeless population in our town," she said.