The pilot program distributed the preloaded Mastercards to asylum seekers at hotels-turned-shelters, with a family of four receiving about $350 a week to cover the cost of groceries and baby supplies.
The city hired New Jersey-based tech startup Mobility Capital Finance in a $53 million, one-year "emergency" contract that drew backlash when the city failed to conduct a typical bidding process before picking the company.
But with the one year up shortly, the Adams administration decided against renewing the contract, ABC7 reported.
Comment: A dive into Mobility Capital Finance might turn up some interesting connections.
Fun fact about migrants and Mastercard:
"As we move towards more competitive contracting for asylum seeker programs, we have chosen not to renew the emergency contract for this pilot program once the one-year term concludes," Adams' office said in a statement to the station.
The city launched the program in late March after inking the contract two months earlier. Since then, the city has handed out $3.2 million in prepaid debit cards to some 2,600 migrant families for food, according to ABC7.
The Adams administration said the no-bid emergency contract was awarded to avoid delays in rolling out the cost-saving program.
City Comptroller Brad Lander has since revoked the city's ability to award such deals for migrant services.
New York City has handed out $3.2 million in prepaid debit cards to some 2,600 migrant families. Robert Miller
Migrants leave the Roosevelt Hotel at 45th Street and Madison Avenue. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
The Adams administration did not provide a reason on Thursday for cutting the program.
A spokesperson for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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