BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has said he expects migrants from New York City to be placed in State University of New York housing in the county, most likely Buffalo State University, as soon as this week.

On Tuesday, however, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at the University at Buffalo that there's no decision yet about when or even if the migrants are coming.

"We need some time to assess the viability of each location," Hochul said. "And in those communities, are there hotels as a better option?"

Hochul says the state continues to survey all its upstate assets but continues to focus on New York City at the moment. More than 70,000 migrants have come there in the last year and Hochul says the city is currently sheltering more than 48,000.

"We're still focused on where the people are coming in, keeping them and getting them settled in New York City,” Hochul said. “New York City's shelter system is overflowing but literally Friday we announced that we have repurposed a formerly shuttered prison in New York City which will be opening up to house over 500 people. We're also looking at space at JFK, looking at a hangar there, waiting for federal approval.”

While New York has not yet opened any of its upstate assets, the city itself has contracted privately with hotels. Over the past several days, several dozen arrived in Albany County, drawing criticism from Albany County Executive Dan McCoy about a lack of communication and coordination.

"We've been encouraging them to give as much notice as possible to county executives,” Hochul said. “Given the scale of that number of people, it's not always going to be perfect as we saw with that situation.”

The governor said while the state continues to look at its options, she also continuing to lobby the federal government both for more resources and to expedite work authorization for people seeking asylum.

"I have so many employers and farmers who are desperately in need of good workers," Hochul said. "These people came here to work. I've met a number of them. They simply want a chance to work and receive legal asylum. There's a great opportunity here."