800 asylum seekers arrive at new Upper West Side emergency relief housing centers
NEW YORK -- Hundreds of asylum seekers have arrived on the Upper West Side.
There are more people now at the three new locations along 70th and 85th streets.
Neighbors keeping score counted four busloads of asylum seekers on the Upper West Side's 85th Street in less than 24 hours, many lugging heavy bags into 207 W. 85th St. and 205 next door.
What were rooms for student housing now provide emergency relief for couples without children and single women.
"It seems like they're just trying to sneak people in without the neighborhood knowing, but as far as I'm concerned, as long as they're good neighbors, I'm fine with it," one man said.
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Another new location for asylum seekers on the Upper West Side is the Stratford Arms hotel on West 70th Street.
All three buildings are owned by the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. With students out, 800 asylum seekers are added to the Upper West Side.
"I just feel bad for them," one woman said.
New York City's total is more than 74,000 asylum seekers processed here since this crisis began, with 170 emergency shelters and nine additional large-scale ones.
State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal wants people to get the help they need, but she says residents deserve a heads up that a shelter's coming in.
"If your surprise a neighborhood, the initial reaction will not be one of acceptance, it will be alarm," she said. "And so it would be good if the city actually informed us earlier. I believe they probably don't because they fear a backlash."
"This issue is a national crisis, and that we all need to do our part," said Anne Williams-Isom, New York City's deputy mayor of health and human services.
City leaders again issued an urgent plea for federal help with more funding so the city and the nation can start to decompress.
