As NYC looks to shelter asylum seekers in school gyms, Chancellor David Banks says city is doing all it can: "This is a crisis"
NEW YORK -- New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks spoke out Wednesday about the city's plan to shelter asylum seekers in school gyms.
"We certainly hope that we don't even have to activate all of those gyms," he said in an interview with Spectrum News NY1. "The mayor is just doing, I think, what he needs to do to be responsible. He has to comply with the law, and we have to consider all the options."
The chancellor went on to assure parents their kids will be safe, but that's not alleviating their anger.
"This is a crisis, it's fluid, and we're doing everything we can possibly do. But I also understand the parents and the emotion," he said. "There's nothing more emotional than when it comes to their kids and school and wanting to make sure that kids are safe. Things are moving so quickly, we don't always have enough time to get out to every community and do the level of engagement that we would do under most circumstances."
- Related Story: Mayor Eric Adams says as many as 20 public school gyms may be needed to house asylum seekers
CBS2's Doug Williams heard from parents and students at P.S. 172 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, one of the 20 schools with free-standing gyms chosen to take in asylum seekers.
Parents said they met with a representative from Mayor Eric Adams' office Tuesday night, but it didn't provide any clarity.
"We had a representative from the city show up from the mayor's office, but it was extremely frustrating and almost disrespectful to have him there, simply because the main thing that he repeated over and over again was 'we don't know, we don't have that information, we don't know,'" PTA Co-President Samantha Clark said.
"These are people here about their kids. Stop playing games with people's lives, man. Come on, what are we doing here?" PTA Co-President Sheldon Austin added at a rally outside the school.
Some camped outside the school for two straight nights, begging city leaders to step in and stop this from happening.
"Schools should not be shelters, they're two different things. We are a hugely welcoming community, we have a full shelter for asylum seekers exactly across the street from our school. We've done our best to welcome them with open arms, but it's different when it's your school, which is small children, used as a shelter," Clark said. "There are so many alternate places. We have compiled a list. Please, Mayor Adams, use those places before you start using schools."
Community members across the city also question why other city-owned buildings weren't chosen ahead of school gyms.
"If you look across the street, this is a city-owned building. It used to be an HRA building. This facility can be used for that purpose, and not put our children in the situation that they have placed them in now," said Community Board Member Lucy Diaz outside P.S. 188 in Coney Island.
The school gym had already been housing asylum seekers, but CBS2 learned Wednesday that the city is moving asylum seekers out of that gymnasium.
It's unclear why they are being moved, but it follows days of outcry from parents and some elected officials.
A spokesperson for the mayor sent CBS2 the following statement:
"Our plan has always been to have emergency respite sites only serve migrants for a very short period of time and only when the influx into our city is overwhelming. Migrants flow in and out of these sites as other more suitable space becomes available, and they have and will continue to be used as a last resort. As the mayor has continued to say, everything is on the table when it comes to placement of asylum seekers, and, sadly, every city service will be affected."
The mayor insists this is a last resort, but the city expects as many as 15 busloads of asylum seekers to arrive this weekend. He said Wednesday about 50% of city hotel rooms are currently being taken up by asylum seekers.
The president of the teacher's union released a statement, reading in part, "School gymnasiums cannot be the first option for sheltering newcomers."
"Teachers are already doing their best for incoming children and families, but we need the city, state, and federal governments to do their jobs and come up with a coordinated plan. School gymnasiums cannot be the first option for sheltering newcomers. We have federal locations. We have state locations," said United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew. "Apparently, we have to publicly call out elected officials for them to come up with a coordinated plan, and not leave the problem to educators and school communities."
The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to hold a briefing on the issue at 1 p.m. Watch more coverage on CBS News New York.