More migrant shelters in New York to shut down as fewer asylum seekers arrive
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams is moving to close emergency migrant shelters in New York City and five upstate counties as the number of people arriving has dramatically dropped.
Fearing the incoming Trump administration will cancel the federal lease for the Floyd Bennett Field tent complex, which houses 1,800 asylum seekers, the Adams administration is also looking for alternate sites for the families.
"We are going to continue to make sure that we are protecting those that need protecting," Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said.
President-elect Donald Trump's border czar says he wants to meet with Adams to discuss the migrant crisis, leading the Legal Aid Society to worry that Floyd Bennett Field could become a target of immigration raids.
"The Legal Aid Society would obviously like to see the site closed and for families to be rehoused, ideally close enough to their children's schools so that they're not completely just displaced from the neighborhood," Stephanie Rudolph said.
Far fewer migrants arriving in New York
Meanwhile, the number of migrants entering New York has fallen. In the week of Nov. 18-24, 400 people entered the shelter system and 1,200 left. Compare that to January, when the city was receiving about 4,000 new asylum seekers weekly.
"It's been about 20 weeks and I believe that the census has been going down. So we have been planning to close sites little by little," Williams-Isom said.
In the last month, New York City has closed 11 shelters, including 1,800 rooms at places like the Americana Inn on West 38th Street in Manhattan, the Voyage Hotel in Long Island City, and the Hotel RL in Brooklyn.
Randall's Island, which has about 2,000 migrants, is scheduled to close in February, which saves the city a ton of money.
"We've been able to save over $2 billion. So to me, that's the real story here," Williams-Isom said. "Now we're going to continue to manage this crisis and make sure we're able to downsize."
There are also plans to close upstate hotels in Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Orange and Westchester counties that currently house 900 asylum seekers.
