The city’s embattled Department of Social Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins announced Tuesday evening he’s leaving his post as the Big Apple’s migrant population surges past 44,000.
Jenkins shared the news in an interview on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” and his last day at the agency will reportedly be March 3. He insisted the move was planned and he was stepping down to explore other opportunities and spend time with loved ones.
“There’s no discord, there’s no running away,” Jenkins said. “This was something that was already planned.”
Jenkins said he got involved in public service because “it was always my passion to help others.”
“Because this agency helped my family, from a single-mom household … we were recipients of public assistance and we actually lived in a shelter for a little over a year,” Jenkins said. “I always said I wanted to go back and help others.”
Jenkins’ announcement came as the city’s shelter system has been stretched thin amid an influx of migrants arriving in the Big Apple.
The city has accepted over 44,700 migrants from the southern border since the spring with over 28,800 housed in 88 city-run shelters and emergency hotels – the majority are overseen by Jenkins’ agency.
As a result, the city’s total shelter population is at an all-time high — a total of 70,691 adults and children, according to DSS figures reported Monday.
Mayor Eric Adams said he estimates the crisis could cost the city a high of $4.2 billion by June 2024.
Jenkins told NY1 host Errol Louis the influx of people has been a strain on the city and reiterated the state and federal government need to help Gotham out.
The city Department of Investigation is probing Jenkin’s role in the firing of a former employee who alleged he was instrumental in a cover-up involving migrants sleeping illegally on city-run shelter floors.
The ex-staffer, Julia Savel, complained internally that Jenkins failed to notify City Hall that DSS violated the Big Apple’s “right to shelter” statue on July 18, which requires the city to provide temporary housing to individuals by 4 a.m. if they make the request before 10 p.m
Mayor Adams lauded Jenkins shortly after he announced his resignation.
“Gary Jenkins has served New Yorkers for 36 years, providing our most vulnerable neighbors with compassion, dignity, and a path toward stabilizing their lives,” Adams said in a tweet. “I’m incredibly grateful to Gary for his decades of service and wish him the very best in his chapter.”