BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

MASSENA — New York City Mayor Eric Adams may be eyeing Massena International Airport as a location to send asylum seekers, but local leaders say it’s not happening.

Adam’s proposal is in direct contrast with Governor Kathy Hochul who says asylum seekers must remain within the city’s five boroughs.

News of the idea to relocate migrants from NYC to Massena broke late last night, Aug. 29, when CBS News reported Homeland Security Secretary Aljandro Mayorkas provided Adams with a list of 11 potential sites to house asylum seekers.

Adams says the city no longer has the option of handling the influx within its own borders.

“New York City has run out of room. We are going to use any space that’s available to take the pressure of New York City residents,” Adams said at a recent press conference.

Massena Town Supervisor Sue Bellor said the inclusion of the Massena International Airport as a potential landing site is news to town officials.

“We have not been communicated with in any way. We have yet to hear anything from state officials regarding the situation. It makes me wonder if they have done their due diligence and actually researched what the airport has to offer. There certainly are no living quarters or housing options there,” Bellor said.

Bellor elaborated further, saying the hangers at the airport are small in size and almost all are rented for small aircraft storage.

When considering locations for housing migrants, Bellor also questioned if state and federal officials had sat down to lay out the options available to the state.

St. Lawrence County Legislator Rita Curran, who represents a portion of Massena, agreed with Bellor, saying there simply is nowhere to house any migrants.

“There simply is nowhere to house them at the airport, unfortunately. There are no living quarters there and we wouldn’t be able to properly take care of them,” Curran said.

Adams has been lobbying federal officials for aid in recent months as migrants flood into the city in record numbers, though Adams has yet to receive any federal aid.

A letter was recently sent to Adams from Mayorkas, who criticized the mayor for “structural and operational issues” in the handling of the migrant crisis in New York City.

Hochul has also been vocal on the subject in recent weeks, most recently attempting to reassure upstate lawmakers that they would not be required or forced to house migrants unless they explicitly offer support.

That statement is contrary to Adams’ stance, who said the city is not equipped to handle the influx of over 100,000 migrants over the last 16 months.

“Any plan that states that all migrants must stay in New York City, that’s a failed plan. Any plan that does not include stopping the flow at the border is a failed plan,” Adams said in a press conference recently.

Adams said the big question is how federal and state officials can stop the flow of migrants into New York.

By working with Homeland Security, Adams appears poised to come into conflict with Hochul who has suggested recently that migrants should be housed only in the five boroughs of New York City.

“We cannot and will not force other parts of our state to shelter migrants,” Hochul said last week.

According to CBS News, other sites in consideration by Homeland Security include Camp Smith in Westchester, Stewart Airport in New Windsor, three sites in Schenectady, Massena International Airport, the Army Reserve Center on Staten Island, an IRS building on Long Island City and the Marine Corps Reserve Center at Floyd Bennett Field that officials previously said was not suitable.

This is the second time Massena has been in the crosshairs of state officials and city lawmakers, coming just weeks after a New York City businessman openly lobbied Adams to utilize the Quality Inn hotel to house nearly 180 migrants.

Local officials say that plan is a non-starter.

Massena Village Mayor Greg Paquin previously said the situation is one that the village is not capable of handling, saying there simply would not be enough resources to assist migrants along with Massena residents who need it.

“We would all be setup for failure. The migrants and village both would be set up for failure and I think the state knows that,” he previously said.

Paquin also noted that the owner, Gary Melius, owed over $386,000 in back taxes that were paid in the eleventh hour by the lien holder, the first step towards protecting an asset before foreclosure.

Even if state officials approved the sending of migrants to Massena, Paquin also noted that by housing migrants long term the state would be defying local code. Paquin said Massena Village Code does not allow for a boarding house.

“If they house them here, that would make the hotel a boarding house. That is not allowable under our code, so unless the state wants to override our code, it’s just not going to happen,” Paquin said previously.