NY attorney general's office won’t defend Gov. Hochul in migrant case in ‘extremely rare’ split

NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office dropped its role Thursday defending the Hochul administration in litigation over the state’s responsibility to shelter migrants, a highly unusual step that appeared to suggest policy differences between two of the state’s most powerful Democrats. The Manhattan law firm Selendy Gay Elsberg has replaced James’ legal team in the case, according to a filing in Manhattan Supreme Court. The move came in a case centered on the city’s right-to-shelter mandate established in 1981, which mandates the city provide shelter to anyone who requests i...