NYC Social Services chief Gary Jenkins vacationing in Mexico amid deepening migrant shelter crisis

Mayor Adams’ beleaguered social services chief is not tending to the city’s migrant-related homeless shelter crisis in person, at the moment — because he’s on vacation in Mexico, the Daily News has learned.

Social Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins, who’s under Department of Investigation scrutiny due to his handling of the shelter system emergency, went on vacation this past Friday and will be back Sept. 6, according to an automated out-of-office message set up for his work email address.

“I will check emails periodically,” the message states before encouraging those reaching out to contact two of his top aides if they “have an urgent matter that needs to be addressed.”

The out-of-office missive does not specify the destination of Jenkins’ trip, but a source within the Department of Social Services told The News he’s in Mexico. A second source briefed on the matter confirmed the same.

It was not immediately clear where in Mexico Jenkins is traveling. A spokeswoman for the Social Services Department said Tuesday she could not discuss “any specifics” about “personal matters,” but stated that “agency employees, including the commissioner, are entitled to time off.”

The spokeswoman would not comment on whether Jenkins planned to meet with any migrants or visit any border crossing stations while in Mexico. Most of the thousands of Central and South American migrants who have arrived in the city in recent weeks crossed the U.S.-Mexico border before being bussed to New York, where Jenkins’ agency has scrambled to find room for them in homeless shelters.

Adams, who has defended Jenkins’ response to the influx of migrants, declined to comment via a spokesman.

The Social Services spokeswoman passed along a statement from Bronx Council member Diana Ayala, who chairs the Council’s General Welfare Committee, that commended Jenkins for being reachable while away from his post.

“He’s still picking up the phone, he’s still accessible, we just had a conversation,” the statement read. “Every day in New York City is an emergency. He’s entitled to a few days to recoup and come back stronger.”

Roughly 7,600 Latin American migrants, many fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries, have cycled through the city’s overburdened shelter system since May, Adams said Monday.

Since the Big Apple is a “Right to Shelter” jurisdiction, the city has been legally required to provide a bed in a homeless shelter to any migrant needing a place to stay.

Due to the ensuing pressure on the shelter system, at least five Latin American families were not provided with homeless shelter beds in a requisite timely manner last month in violation of the Right to Shelter law.

The Department of Investigation is probing Jenkins over allegations that he sought to cover up the Right to Shelter violations by initially keeping Adams and the public in the dark about them. Jenkin has vehemently denied the accusations and claim they were cooked up by Julia Savel, the department’s former top spokeswoman, who was fired days after raising concern about the alleged coverup.

Jenkins’ current spokeswoman said the Department of Investigation has not contacted him as part of the probe.

“Commissioner Jenkins is committed to cooperating with all/any requests from DOI as we have always done, if they come in,” the spokeswoman said.

Department of Investigation rep Dianne Struzzi declined to comment.

Revelations about Jenkins’ Mexican trip come on the heels of The News reporting that he went partying on a yacht with his chief of staff the day after the city declared a state of emergency for the homeless shelter system due to the crush of migrants arriving.

The timing and destination of Jenkins’ vacation raised eyebrows from a homeless advocate involved in the migrant crisis response who compared it to former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s infamous campaign trip to Iowa while the city had a massive electrical blackout in 2019.

“Flying off to vacation while the city’s in crisis is de Blasio-level malpractice,” the advocate said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of angering Jenkins. “The commissioner is helping the tabloids write headlines — when he should be fixing this crisis.”