Lawmakers say the legislation is intended to help the city better respond to the needs of the nearly 34,000 migrants still in its shelter system. “There’s honestly no excuse,” said City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who chairs the Council’s Immigration Committee. “We have a very large population that it’s tending to, and they haven’t disappeared. They are still here.”

A woman and her daughter staying at one of the city’s hotel shelters for families early last year. In recent months, the city has closed most of those facilities, as the number of new arrivals declines. (Ado Talwar/City Limits)

Under a local law passed last year, the city was required to survey migrants in the shelter system about their workforce development and health needs, and share the results in a report for the City Council by Sept. 30.

But almost a month later, the Adams administration has yet to submit those findings—and has not yet started administering the surveys, City Limits has learned.

“The development of studies of this magnitude takes time and deliberate coordination across multiple city agencies to ensure that the survey is accurate, rigorously distributed and yields the necessary and reliable results needed,” said a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), one of the two city agencies tasked with conducting the surveys.

Councilmembers and immigrant advocates criticized the delay, saying the legislation is intended to help the city better respond to the needs of migrants in its care. While the number of new arrivals has been decreasing for months, there are still nearly 34,000 in the shelter system, most of them families with children. 

“[I’m] incredibly frustrated by all of this. There’s honestly no excuse, other than lack of interest in being able to meet the mandates of the law,” said City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who chairs the Council’s Immigration Committee. “We have a very large population that it’s tending to, and they haven’t disappeared. They are still here.”

Under the bills passed last year, two city agencies were tasked with conducting the surveys: The Department of Health is responsible for surveying migrants’ about their long-term health needs, chronic conditions, and access to healthcare as part of Local Law 74.

The Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development, created by the Eric Adams administration in 2022 through an executive order, is in charge of surveying their economic opportunities and workforce development obstacles under Local Law 73.

The surveys should have been given to case managers and on-site shelter staff 11 months ago, in November 2024, according to the legislation. The results were supposed to be provided to the commissioner of these agencies no later than May 31, 2025.

“We are diligently working with our agency partners and we’re happy to share that the survey will be live within the next few weeks,” a DOHMH spokesperson said, though did not provide an exact date or other details.

“In addition to time, projects of this magnitude require careful reflection of the community we are attempting to reach and how we can reach them without increasing the fear and worry they may already be experiencing,” the spokesperson said.

Over the last few months, federal agents have increased arrests as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, including at New York City courts and on the streets. They recently arrested people outside the Row Hotel, a city-operated emergency migrant shelter, and targeted vendors on a busy street in Chinatown. 

At the same time, the city has been shutting down its network of emergency shelters for migrants as fewer new arrivals enter the system. The majority of migrant families are now housed in traditional shelter sites run by the Department of Homeless Services. 

“The mayoral administration is inexplicably behind by nearly a year to develop and distribute these surveys amongst the city’s newest immigrants who have now mostly exited city shelters,” a City Council spokesperson said in a statement. “This failure is a squandered opportunity to learn from the latest wave of migration to New York City.”

The execution of the surveys is not the only Council law the Adams administration has delayed: another bill to allow people to report poor conditions in vacant apartments in their building has still yet to be implemented. City Hall has also refused to carry out a package of laws expanding the city’s rental voucher program, a dispute now playing out in court.

“The city’s inability to complete a survey among a now small number of asylum-seekers who remain stuck in our shelter system showcases the failure of this administration to prioritize the needs of our most vulnerable populations,” Carlos Arnao of the New York Immigration Coalition said in a statement to City Limits. “We urge Mayor Adams to take proactive steps to comply with the law during the remaining months of his lame-duck administration.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Daniel@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post City Hall Misses Deadline to Comply With Council Law Requiring Migrant Shelter Surveys appeared first on City Limits.

After placing veteran quarterback Carson Wentz on injured reserve earlier this week, the Vikings have added another player with experience at the position.

In search of a quick study at the position, the Vikings signed veteran quarterback John Wolford to the practice squad. He previously played for head coach Kevin O’Connell with the Los Angeles Rams, and thus, should be able to pick up the offense in short order.

The addition of Wolford provides depth behind starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy and backup quarterback Max Brosmer. The plan is for McCarthy to return from a high ankle sprain when the Vikings travel to play the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field.

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SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (AP) — Hurricane Melissa was grinding across Cuba on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm after pummeling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Cuba had been evacuated to shelters. A hurricane warning was in effect for Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguin and Las Tunas provinces as well as the southeastern and central Bahamas.

Melissa had top sustained winds of 105 mph and was moving north-northeast at 14 mph according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The hurricane was centered 45 miles northwest of Guantánamo, Cuba, and 205 miles south of the central Bahamas.

The agency warned that preparations for the storm in the Bahamas “should be rushed to completion.”

Melissa struck Jamaica on Tuesday with top sustained winds of 185 mph before weakening over land.

It was forecast to continue weakening as it crossed Cuba and remain a strong hurricane as it moves across the southeastern or central Bahamas later Wednesday. The storm is expected to make its way late Thursday near or to the west of Bermuda, where a hurricane watch is in effect.

The storm was expected to generate a storm surge of up to 12 feet in the region and drop up to 20 inches of rain in parts of eastern Cuba. The intense rain could cause life-threatening flooding with numerous landslides, U.S. forecasters said.

The hurricane could worsen Cuba’s severe economic crisis, which already has led to prolonged power blackouts, as well as fuel and food shortages.

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“There will be a lot of work to do. We know there will be a lot of damage,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in a televised address, adding that “no one is left behind and no resources are spared to protect the lives of the population.”

He urged the population not to underestimate the power of Melissa, “the strongest ever to hit national territory.”

Officials in Jamaica were assessing the damage. More than half a million customers were without power late Tuesday as officials reported that most of the island had downed trees, power lines and extensive flooding.

Extensive damage was reported in parts of Clarendon in the south and in the southwestern parish of St. Elizabeth, which was “under water,” said Desmond McKenzie, deputy chairman of Jamaica’s Disaster Risk Management Council.

The storm damaged four hospitals and left one without power, forcing officials to evacuate 75 patients, McKenzie said.

The government said it hopes to reopen all of Jamaica’s airports as early as Thursday to ensure quick distribution of emergency relief supplies.

The storm already was blamed for seven deaths in the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing.

By WAFAA SHURAFA and JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military said Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it carried out heavy airstrikes overnight across the Palestinian territory that killed 104 people, including 46 children, according to local health officials.

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The strikes — the deadliest since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10 — marked the most serious challenge to the tenuous truce to date.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the strikes after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire for handing over body parts this week that Israel said were partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war. That was compounded by the shooting and killing an Israeli soldier during an exchange of gunfire in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.

U.S. President Donald Trump, on a trip to Asia, defended the strikes, saying Israel was justified in carrying them out after Hamas killed the Israeli soldier, who also held U.S. citizenship.

Hamas denied any involvement in the deadly shooting and in turn accused Israel of “a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal.” It also said it would delay handing over the body of another hostage to Israel because of the strikes.

Trading accusations

Netanyahu called the return Monday of body parts a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return all the remains of hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of some of the remains on Monday, sharing a 14-minute, edited video from a military drone in Gaza.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said Hamas was responsible for the consequences of its ceasefire violation and attributed the high death toll from the strikes to the militant group using civilians as human shields.

Displaced Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli army strike on their tent camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Marmorstein said Washington was informed about the strikes and that they were carried out in full coordination with the United States.

Hamas has said it is struggling to locate bodies of the hostages amid the vast destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the militant group of purposely delaying their return.

There are still 13 bodies of hostages in Gaza and their slow return is complicating efforts to proceed to the ceasefire’s next phases, which addresses even thornier issues, including the disarmament of Hamas, deployment of an international security force in Gaza and deciding who will govern the territory.

Marmorstein said Hamas was “trying to do everything possible to avoid” disarming.

Mounting death toll

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported the overall death toll of 104 from the overnight strikes and said that 253 people were also wounded, most of them women and children. It said the dead include 46 children.

Palestinians injured in an Israeli army strike are brought to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said 45 people — including 20 children — were in critical condition at the hospital. He said the hospital received more 21 bodies, including seven women and six children.

First, the Aqsa Hospital in Gaza’s central city of Deir al-Balah reported at least 10 bodies, among them three women and six children. In southern Gaza, the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 20 bodies after five Israeli strikes in the area, of which 13 were children and two were women.

Elsewhere in central Gaza, the Al-Awda Hospital said it received 30 bodies, including 14 children.

Trump defends Israel

Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that Israel “should hit back” when its troops come under attack.

But he said he’s still confident the ceasefire would withstand the escalation in violence because “Hamas is a very small part of the overall Middle East peace. And they have to behave.”

If not, they will be “terminated,” Trump added.

An Israeli military official said Wednesday that the soldier in Rafah — identified as Master Sgt. Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37 — was killed by “enemy fire” that targeted his vehicle on Tuesday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential military operations, said Israeli troops in the area came under attack numerous times on Tuesday as they worked to destroy tunnels and Hamas infrastructure.

Hamas insisted it was not involved in the Rafah gunfire, reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire and called on mediators to pressure Israel to stop.

The Israeli military said its forces struck “30 terrorists holding command positions within terrorist organizations” operating inside the Palestinian territory. It said Israeli forces would continue to uphold the ceasefire but would “respond firmly” to any violation of the deal.

Funeral prayers at Gaza hospitals

Ambulances and small trucks carrying bodies crowded hospital entrances overnight across Gaza. In Deir Al-Balah, bodies were wheeled in on stretchers, and others carried in on mattresses. One man walked into the hospital carrying the body of a young child.

“They struck right next to us, and we saw all the rubble on top of us and our young ones,” said a woman standing outside of the hospital.

At dawn, displaced Palestinians at the camp cleared remains of a destroyed tent next to a crater where the strike hit. They found the body of a small child and wrapped it in a blanket.

“What kind of a ceasefire is this?” Amna Qrinawi said.

At the Al-Awda Hospital, scores of people gathered around dozens of bodies wrapped in white shrouds for funeral prayers. Family members wept as they bade farewell to their loved ones.

Yehya Eid, who said he lost his brother and nephews, wept over a small body in a bloodied white shroud outside the hospital. He said the strike came without warning.

“These are children who were killed. What did they do wrong? Did they fight in the war?” Eid asked.

Funeral prayers were also held outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

“These are massacres,” said Haneen Mteir, who lost her sister and nephews. “They burned children while they were asleep.”

Najwa Erian said she was lucky her children survived when their building collapsed in one of the strikes.

“It was thanks to the young men from the neighborhood who all came to check on us and were able to save the children,” she said.

Boak reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, and Julia Frankel, Josef Federman and Renata Brito in Jerusalem contributed to this report.