Mayor Eric Adams is spending the last few days of 2023 celebrating the work his administration has done while reflecting on the highs and lows that New Yorkers have experienced this year.  

"Hard to believe we're on the verge of two years and hard to imagine two years ago, the city was in a free fall,” said Adams.  

The mayor touched upon the difficulties that his administration has faced throughout the first two years of his tenure, including crime, COVID-19, the housing crisis and arguably the largest talking point of 2023 – the ongoing migrant crisis.  

“We thought we were going to have a few showers and we were hit with a typhoon of the migrants and asylum seekers,” said Adams.  

According to city data, over 161,000 migrants have come through the city since spring 2022, with 68,000 of them currently in the city’s care. The city says 2,200 have received work authorization papers.  

Adams championed some of the successes his administration has seen, including reduced crime rates and the emergence of new housing initiatives.  

Looking ahead to 2024, the city is focusing on closing down illegal weed shops. Officials also say that they’re looking to Albany to find a solution to the ongoing housing crisis.  

“The goal is to incentivize building,” said Adams. “The goal is to make sure we have some form of tenant’s protection.”