BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Since New York City awarded DocGo a $432 million no-bid emergency contract last year to coordinate housing and services for migrants, the company has drawn significant controversy and scrutiny.
Mayor Eric Adams said the city will not renew the contract, which expires May 5. State Sen. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, is among DocGo's many critics.
"I applaud the city for terminating DocGo's contract," Ryan said. "It's been problems from day one. You can say it's been a disaster."
Mayor Adams' office said DocGo has been serving approximately 3,600 asylum seekers. Roughly half of those are migrants the city began relocating to upstate hotels last spring.
"It was all designed to be a short term fix but we're into like the ten-month period so we have to transition out of this idea that the asylee situation is going to be short-term and we can just put people up in hotels for a few weeks and it goes away," Ryan said.
The administration said existing contractor Garner Environmental Services will take over DocGo's services next month. However, DocGo will continue its role upstate in the interim as the city starts a request for proposals process to find a replacement.
"I know that we will be able to come up with a better plan because nobody consulted with the upstate communities before New York City entered into a contract with DocGo and started essentially dumping people in hotels near thruway exits," Ryan said.
The New York City comptroller's office will continue an audit of contracts and the implementation of the city's migrant programs. Comptroller Brad Lander said there were serious concerns about DocGo's lack of experience, the company's failure to properly vet subcontractors or provide sufficient basic services, among other things.
"I actually think that we'd be in better shape if we had moved forward much more quickly with the Jewish Family Services in Buffalo, with those other upstate refugee resettlement groups and with the network of providers here of shelter and services that have proved that they are good partners, good stewards of taxpayer money," Lander said.
Ryan said he has had weekly conversation's with Adams' office over the last six months about moving migrants in Buffalo from the hotels to more permanent housing. He said that will continue to be part of the conversation as upstate and downstate leaders now look to more permanent solutions.
The New York City mayor's office said there are currently more than 64,000 migrants under the city's care and more than 189,000 have come through the city since the spring of 2022. A spokesperson said NYC contracts with many other organizations to provide care that have not drawn the same controversy as DocGo.