Tab for defending Niagara County’s no-migrants order is growing

Dec. 26—In mid-May, Niagara County issued an emergency order to prevent migrants from being moved here from New York City, and the county’s response to Mayor Eric Adams‘s pitch for relieving some of the “strain” migrants were placing on his city was not well received.

Along with dozens of other counties, Niagara got sued, twice, for moving to close its borders, and one of those lawsuits is still active.

Looking back, Niagara County legislative majority caucus leader Randy Bradt said this week, that the county’s decision to bar hotels from housing migrants was and still is valid. Aside from considering the costs incurred by communities that did not declare such a state of emergency, Bradt said, his personal feeling is that the people who were already here deserve help first.

Per the emergency order, any hotel that houses migrants on behalf of New York City or New York State will be subject to a fine of $2,000 per person, per day.

Defending that order has cost Niagara County $140,000 in legal fees so far, according to County Attorney Claude Joerg. The lawsuit brought by New York City in June was discontinued, but not before McAskill & Crosby, the Buffalo law firm hired to defend the county, racked up $77,000 in fees for work including securing a change of venue for the possible trial, from New York City to Niagara County Court.

Separately, the hotel group Palisades Estates EOM also sued Niagara and other counties over their emergency declarations in June. That suit is in federal court now, in the preliminary stage, and this week the county legislature approved the transfer of another $70,000, from surplus funds to the county attorney’s office to pay outside counsel’s bills for handling it. The current balance due is just under $63,000.

New York State law says lawsuits against a county must be heard in that county — that’s why McAskill & Crosby went to state court and got the change of venue — but there is no such provision in federal law.

“We’re trying to get (the Palisades suit) moved to the county, but we must make a different argument,” Joerg said.

The running tab for defending the county’s emergency order doesn’t inspire any second thoughts by Bradt. He quickly references the almost $400,000 spent so far this school year by the Cheektowaga-based Maryvale district to provide special services to 76 migrant students.

As for the continuance of the emergency order, Bradt said county officials are continually “monitoring the situation.” If migrants were…