NYC's Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to house migrants at an NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line ship docked off Staten Island fizzled because it was too expensive and the city wanted a “cheaper option,” a top City Hall official revealed on Friday, October 7.
The Adams administration was close to the final deal with Norwegian Cruise Line last week, but discussions broke down after Norwegian executives wanted to charge too much.
City Hall chief of staff Frank Carone, who's been engaged in negotiations with Norwegian, said that they were probably least likely because they got better deals.
City Hall is currently in talks with 4 other companies including CCL-Carnival Cruise Line and Tallink-Silja/Estonia, hired by the Estonian government to house refugees from Ukraine.
According to Carone, their job was to do what was "best for the safety of the people but also the best cost and most efficient.”
A cruise vessel is among the several options New York City is looking at to house the influx of migrants arriving at the former naval homeport base in Stapleton, Staten Island.
17400+ migrants have already arrived in NYC since April 2022, according to City Hall data.
Adams said the number could grow to a high of ~100,000 individuals and on Friday declared a state of emergency over the crisis.