New York City Will Stop Giving Debit Cards to Migrants

Mayor Eric Adams is ending a contentious pilot program that gave 2,600 migrant families debit cards to purchase food.

New York City will end a contentious program that provided debit cards to migrant families to purchase food, city officials announced on Thursday.

The pilot program came under fire from the moment it was announced in February, with critics concerned that the cards could be misused and questioning whether it was fair to give preferential treatment to migrants over others in need.

Mayor Eric Adams has defended it, arguing that the program would bring down the costs of feeding migrants and give them a wider array of healthier options at supermarkets and bodegas.

But his administration has decided not to renew the one-year contract, which had been given to Mobility Capital Finance, known as MoCaFi, on a no-bid emergency basis.

The city’s Department of Investigation is investigating the contract with MoCaFi, The New York Daily News reported in October.

In explaining the city’s decision on Thursday, Mr. Adams made no mention of the investigation. He said that given the city’s “constant decrease in our population” of migrants, there was no need to renew an emergency contract.

“It was an emergency, and now we’re moving in another direction,” he said on WABC-TV, adding that the program was successful.

More than 200,000 migrants have arrived in the city since 2022, but the flow of arrivals has slowed in recent months. The program served more than 2,600 migrant families staying in city-funded hotels, said William Fowler, a spokesman for the mayor.

Under the program, a family of four with young children received about $350 per week for a month, with the possibility of renewal. The city has spent about $3.6 million on the program, with $3.2 million placed on cards and $400,000 paid to MoCaFi, city officials said.

The company’s chief executive, Wole Coaxum, said in a statement on Thursday that the company was proud of its work helping migrant families, which “aligns with our company’s mission to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars.”

Mr. Coaxum is an ally of Mr. Adams, meeting with him as part of his “mayoral classes” before he took office. He also donated $250 to Mr. Adams’s mayoral campaign in 2020. Mr. Coaxum said in an interview in February that he liked Mr. Adams’s campaign message, and there was “no expectation” that the donation would influence Mr. Adams.

Mr. Adams said in February that the company matched two of his priorities: using technology to improve city services and hiring women- and minority-owned businesses.

Spending on migrant services has come under scrutiny, especially following the city’s problems with a no-bid, $432 million contract with DocGo, a medical services company.

The city will go back to delivering meals to families staying at hotels under an existing contract with a company called Garner Environmental Services.

Justin Brannan, a City Council member from Brooklyn who chairs the finance committee, recently raised concerns about Garner Environmental Services in a letter to the state and city comptroller.

Todd Riddle, chief executive of Garner, said in a statement: “We’re committed to providing reliable and efficient services for the migrant crisis. We’re proud to be a partner with New York City for over two decades.”

Our Coverage of the Adams Administration

• Adams Indictment: Federal prosecutors unveiled a five-count indictment against Mayor Eric Adams, charging him with bribery conspiracy, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
• What Happens Next?: The indictment of Adams prompted calls for his resignation, but there is no legal requirement that he leave office. Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove him.
• Federal Investigations Swirl: The case against the mayor is among several federal corruption investigations that have reached people in Adams’s orbit.
• Housing Proposal: Adams’s plan to ease the city’s housing shortage by making way for more than 100,000 new homes cleared the City Planning Commission, setting up a tougher fight between the administration and the City Council.
• Stop and Frisk: The N.Y.P.D.’s discipline for illegal street detentions is lax at every level — a failure that reaches all the way to the top of the force — according to a review ordered by a federal judge.