- Over 140,000 new migrants have arrived in NYC, costing the city $4billion a year
- DocGo was contracted to bus migrants to upstate and care for them there
- The firm has previously been accused of mistreating asylum seekers
Makes one wonder if every meal comes with a voter registration card?
A company awarded a no-bid contract to care for and feed New York City's migrants trashed as many as 70,000 uneaten meals worth $776,000 in just one month, per a new report.
DocGo, a medical services company, was given the $432 million deal to care for about 4,000 migrants in the city's care upstate - but has been accused of wasting taxpayer money as mayor Eric Adams was forced to slash billions from city services to fund the crisis.
From October 22 to November 10, the company threw out over 70,000 meals, marking them as 'wasted' in internal documents reviewed by The New York Times. The trashed food cost taxpayers about $776,000. As the Times notes, at this rate wasted food would cost the city $1million a month.
The meals are going to waste because of various reasons, including that many migrants are not present when they are served because they're working or looking for work. Moreover, many have reportedly started cooking in their hotel rooms.
However, some migrants have also said the food made them sick and has quality issues including mold. At the Red Rood Plus in Buffalo, a company employee noted migrants 'dislike the food strongly,' adding 'Clients angry and claim that the food has mold and is making them sick.'
A migrant from Haiti told the Times he had to go to the hospital after he ate his first DocGo meal and now has to wear a special belt around his stomach to help the gas the food gives him.
DocGo, which had no prior experience caring for migrants and previously worked as a COVID-testing firm, has been accused of mistreating the asylum seekers in its care.
The company was given the no-bid contract in May to help bus migrants upstate and care for them as the city ran out of room. The contract states the food is meant to be provided with no profit to the company.
Back in August, governor Kathy Hochul opened a probe into the company over complaints by migrants who claimed they were lured to Albany with promises of jobs and legal assistance and then abandoned by DocGo.
The company's CEO Anthony Capone, who faced allegations that he lied about his educational background, resigned in September citing 'personal reasons.'
A spokesperson with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development told the Times DocGo had recently began ordering fewer meals and it's aiming to cut $66million from the program by the end of 2024.
DocGo spokesman Rob Ford claimed: 'The data presented by The New York Times is once again taken out of context and is not accurate... DocGo continually monitors food consumption and works to proactively identify opportunities for savings on behalf of N.Y.C.'
The firm was founded in 2015 by Stanley Vashovsky with the goal of 'revolutionizing medical transportation and mobile healthcare delivery.'
Adams signed $5,056,744,415 in nearly 200 contracts for migrant services since last year, when he declared a state of emergency, allowing City Hall to bypass a competitive bidding process to address the surge of asylum seekers.
However, he lost that power earlier this month after it was revoked by comptroller Brad Lander, who is auditing the contract with DocGo. He has said he has 'serious concerns about the selection of this vendor and its performance of contract duties.'
'There are just too many outstanding questions and concerns about DocGo and this $432 million no-bid contract,' Lander added. 'New Yorkers deserve real-time oversight and accountability to understand how this price tag was reached, ensure this company has the experience to provide the contracted services, and vet the integrity and responsibility of this vendor.'
Last month Adams announced a $110.5 billion budget, claiming cuts across all departments were necessary after the city spent $1.45 billion in fiscal 2023 on the migrant crisis.
The budget cuts would cause NYPD officers to be cut by a fifth, or 13.5 percent, by postponing the next five academy classes, bringing officers below 30,000 - down from 36,000.
Education would also take a $1 billion hit over two years and it would cause a delay in the rollout of composting in the Bronx and Staten Island, causing reduced trash pick-ups as well as cuts to the city's pre-K programs.
The New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library also would need to eliminate Sunday service due to the budget cut.
'Without sufficient funding, we cannot sustain our current levels of service, and any further cuts to the Libraries' budgets will, unfortunately, result in deeper service impacts,' the libraries said in a statement.
The cuts would also decrease funding for two children's programs: summer school and universal prekindergarten.
Company paid $432M to feed NYC migrants trashed 70,000 meals
DocGo, a medical services company, was given the $432 million deal to care for about 4,000 migrants in the city's care upstate.
