Protesters clash with police outside new asylum seeker shelter in Queens, several arrested
NEW YORK -- Protesters clashed with police outside a new asylum seeker shelter in Queens on Wednesday as, behind the scenes, the mayor and governor appear to be clashing over policy.
Police made several arrests at a rally Wednesday night against the new relief center for asylum seekers at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village.
Former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa led the charge.
"We think we can stop this process with Creedmoor through civil disobedience," he said.
The temporary tents on state property have room for 1,000 men seeking asylum.
"Our major concern is regarding the safety and security of the neighborhood," Queens Village resident Ed Goydas said.
"We have dreams. We're looking for new opportunities for our families," said asylum seeker Jose Berrera.
Berrera was a chef in Colombia before he came to New York two months ago.
"I don't know the word in English -- corruption? It's too much in my country," he said.
The tension outside Creedmoor mimics the tension between Albany and City Hall.
In a letter from Gov. Kathy Hochul's office to Mayor Eric Adams, the state slammed the mayor's management of the asylum seeker crisis for, among other things, being slow to act and submit receipts for state reimbursement and ignoring state offers for shelter sites that could hold up to 3,000 people.
"I like her. She likes me ... We're gonna sit down and show her why we could not use those places," Adams said Wednesday.
City Hall defends it's spent $1.7 billion on this crisis and has provided care for more than 100,000 asylum seekers since last year.
"To put that in perspective, this population is larger than the entire city of Albany," said Fabien Levy, deputy mayor for communications.
In a court suit over the right to shelter, the city is demanding the state do more, including cover 2/3 of the expenses from caring for new arrivals and absorb education- and shelter-related costs for migrants sent upstate.
Adams also wants Hochul to force upstate localities to accept asylum seekers.
"Putting someone in a hotel on a dark, lonely road in Upstate New York and telling them they're supposed to survive is not compassion," Hochul said.
One thing the governor, mayor, protesters and asylum seekers can all agree on -- the federal government needs to provide more aid.