Some asylum seekers outside Roosevelt Hotel sent to stay at church; others allowed inside temporarily
NEW YORK -- Dozens of asylum seekers who had been staying on the street outside the Roosevelt Hotel for days now have a place to stay, at least temporarily.
City officials say some of the asylum seekers who had been sleeping on the sidewalk outside the intake center have been sent to a church in Long Island City.
The rest are temporarily in the hotel's ballrooms or lobby.
Cleanup crews were outside the hotel Thursday to spray down the sidewalk.
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"The only way we're going to avoid the line being formed in the future is if the federal government steps up and gives us places and resources to finally help us," said New York City Health and Hospitals senior vice president Dr. Ted Long.
Advocates threatened legal action if the city did not find places to house people.
City officials also say the McCarren rec center in Williamsburg will house around 80 asylum seekers as soon as this weekend. They say public access to the pool and fitness center will not be impacted and security will be stepped up.
An emergency conference on New York's Right To Shelter Law is scheduled for Friday in state Supreme Court.