Judge stops Rockland County hotel from hosting migrants in New York

Subway

from Bernadette Hogan, Reuven Fenton and David Proper

May 9, 2023 | 9:23 p.m

On Tuesday, a judge stopped a Rockland County hotel from accepting migrants bused in from New York by issuing a temporary restraining order.

The Armoni Inn is barred from hosting migrants at their hotel — at least for now — after Orangetown officials took them to court over the city’s plan to send asylum seekers from Big Apple shelters to hotels in Rockland and Orange counties.

After Friday’s announcement from City Hall, local officials in both counties expressed condemnation and residents expressed fear and outrage.

State Supreme Court Justice Christy D’Alessio sided with Orangetown on Tuesday when she issued a temporary restraining order that stops the hotel from becoming a shelter for transient guests, according to court documents.

The order also hit the brakes on the hotel from making any changes without the proper permits.

The defendants in the lawsuit, made up of three LLCs, and Orangetown are due back in court Monday at 9:30 a.m., where D’Alessio will hear oral arguments on whether to issue a preliminary injunction.

Hotel staff had no comment Tuesday and the hotel owner could not be reached for comment. There were no migrants in the hotel on Tuesday evening.

City Hall spokesman Fabien Levy said in a statement Tuesday night that the city will let the Armoni Inn lawsuit play out, but said “our plan is still to relocate a small number of asylum seekers to Orange County tomorrow, barring all security issues.”

Department of Social Services Acting Commissioner Molly Park said during a City Council hearing Monday the city bus program will begin this week.

“I believe we’re expecting it to launch this week, but again, it’s a rapidly evolving situation on the ground,” Park said.

Orangetown claims the Armoni Inn and Suites does not have the proper building and zoning permits to accommodate the migrants because they will be staying at the hotel for an extended period of time.

Orangetown Manager Theresa Kenney said Monday that the city estimates about 340 single adults will be staying at the hotel, noting that the hotel cannot allow guests to stay more than 30 days per city code.

Before Orangetown’s legal action, Rockland County’s executive declared a state of emergency over the weekend in an effort to stop asylum seekers.

Levy, in a statement Tuesday night, criticized Day for his opposition to the plan to move migrants into the city.

“Rockland County’s leadership has already demonstrated that it is unable to manage less than ¼ of 1% of the asylum seekers who have come to New York, even with New York paying for shelter, food and services, and all of these temporary order shows that he is unable to demonstrate even a fraction of the humane and compassionate care that New York has shown over the past year,” Levy said.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus issued a similar emergency declaration late Monday that would bar hotels, motels and other short-term rentals from allowing migrants to stay there.

Gotham hosted tens of thousands of migrants who crossed the southern border and were then bussed to the Big Apple from Texas.

Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has repeatedly said the city does not have the resources to care for the thousands of newcomers and has asked the federal government to provide substantial assistance.