From L to R: Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, Councilmember Julie Won and Councilmember Shekar Krishnan. The lawmakers will take part in a rally outside City Hall at noon Thursday to urge the mayor to stop the construction of a tent city on Randall’s Island. (Photos: Governor’s Office, NY Assembly, Michael Dorgan, NYC Council))
Oct. 12, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
Several Queens lawmakers are calling on the mayor to scrap his plans to house asylum seekers in a tent city on Randall’s Island – and instead find them better accommodation, such as hotel rooms.
Four Queens legislators — Assemblymembers Catalina Cruz and Zohran Mamdani, as well as Councilmembers Julie Won and Shekar Krishnan – will rally outside City Hall at noon Thursday to urge the mayor to stop the construction of the tent city. They will be joined by several other city and state lawmakers.
The tent city is being erected as a form of emergency accommodation to house an influx of asylum seekers to the city in recent months – many of whom have been bused by the governors of Texas and Florida. Around 17,000 asylum seekers have come to New York City from the southern border since April, according to the mayor.
However, the lawmakers say the tent city will not be safe as it will be prone to flooding. They point to a proposal to construct a similar structure in the Bronx that was scrapped last week after rain filled the tents with water.
The lawmakers also say the tents do not provide adequate protection against cold or wind, especially as temperatures are set to drop over the coming weeks.
The legislators say there are better ways to house the migrants including at shuttered hotels throughout the city.
Last week Speaker Adrienne Adams identified 10 closed hotels in Manhattan which she said could be used to house the migrants.
Other alternatives the lawmakers suggest include freeing up the city’s shelters by moving current tenants into permanent housing. The mayor said last week that out of 61,000 people living in city shelters, one in five is a migrant.
Another proposal, they say, would be to open housing assistance programs to undocumented immigrants.
Krishnan criticized the Randall’s Island plan last week and called on the mayor to do more.
“All New Yorkers have a right to clean, dignified and safe shelter – that includes our newest arrivals,” Krishnan said in a statement.
“The proposed tent system for Randall’s Island falls well short of these standards. We must do better for those who have been through so much to get here, as well as those who’ve long been through our homeless shelter system.”
Mayor Eric Adams greeting migrants at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in August (Official New York City government Twitter)
Tomorrow’s rally will come days after the mayor declared a state of emergency to help the city respond to the migrant crisis. The declaration suspended certain land-use requirements and paved the way for the tent city on Randall’s Island to go forward.
The mayor also called for federal and state aid to handle the continued influx of asylum seekers. He said that housing the asylum seekers will cost the city $1 billion this fiscal year.
“We now have a situation where more people are arriving in New York City than we can immediately accommodate, including families with babies and young children,” Adams said Friday.
“Once the asylum seekers from today’s buses are provided shelter, we would surpass the highest number of people in recorded history in our city’s shelter system.”
He also said that 42 hotels have been set up as emergency shelters and 5,500 migrant children have been enrolled in schools.
The city is also exploring a potential program for New Yorkers to host asylum seekers and the “unhoused” in their homes, according to CNN.
Featured Events
9 Comments
Reafing the comnents it saddens me to think that kathyHocul snd the Democratic Socialistd in lpower in the stste snd city of NY. will probably get 4 more years to XESTROY A ONCE DECENT CITY AND STATE. WOKE BS AND BIDEN PUSHING RACE INTO RVERY ASPECT OF LICE IN AMERICA WINS BIM VOTES. HE KNOWS IT AND HAS TBE PROPAGANDA MEDIA ON HIS SIDE BIDEN HAS DEMOCRATIC SICIALISTS RUNNING ON ABORTION RIGHTS. NOT THE ECONOMY ,CRIME,IMMIGRATION , INFLATION, GAS PRICES ETC. WHILE HARD WORKING CJTIZENS WILL PAY CON ED MORE THIS YEAR FOR THEIR GREEN INFRASTRUCGURE AGENDA. Illegal Immigrants sill be nice and warm for FREE. Remember thst in thd votung booth. ALSO HOW YOU ARE NOT SAFE ON THE STREETS OR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. TH OPEN BIRDER IS ALLOWING FENTANYL TO COME INTO THIS COUNYRY MORE AND MORE. EVEN IN CANDY COLORED CAPSULES.
Elected Officials who support housing for the migrants should lead by example and take in migrants into THEIR own homes. Feed them, clothe them, provide medical care and education too. If ANY of the elected Officials don’t want to do this then don’t ask Taxpayers to do it.
These are among the worst public servants ever and seem to get some sort of ego satisfaction by being the “wokest” of woke. Who is going to pay for all of this?? I feel bad for the situation that some migrants have endured but this wave is ridiculous and is a completely unfair burden on those New Yorkers who have responsibility scrimped and saved to barely make ends meet. These dum dums in office seem to just do whatever they think is going to seem “cool” by the young kids in high school who have no real responsibility or by the ultra rich democratic figureheads who won’t be paying for any of this anyway. Do people even realize how wealthy the Schumers and Pelosis of the world are? It is easy for them to say yes welcome stay in hotels and we will pay for it. None of this affects them. They don’t have to skip meals and struggle to figure out how to keep their kids fed and clothed and safe. This is an absolute shame and these people need to be voted out.
And make sure they get room service. Nothing but the best for future Dem voters.
Democrstic Socialists All. THEY ALL SHOUKD BE VOTED OUT.OF OFFICE !!!!!!
It’d sure be nice if our elected official’s fought this hard for those of us living and working here legally. I think we’d all appreciate tax breaks, rent freezes, subsidized metro cards. But no, you keep working yourself to death and barely get by while those entering our country illegally are put up in $300+ a night hotels.
These 4 Queens Woke Democratic Socialists are full on pro ilkdgal immigrant. Biden has taken asylum to mass refigee status. Asylum seekers ate not supposed to be so freely allowed to stay in the country with catch and release.These Dem. Socialists are aidin and abetting Biden’ s Open Border Policies. A Billion dollars of taxpayer money to give everything FREE to these people, This just encourages more to come. It is a terrible policy Biden has on this country . NYC sanctusry city status is a joke and needs to be eliminated. The right to shelter should be for citizens only., that would make common sense somethong these WOKE Politicians lack. I Can’ t blame Texas or Ariz. & FLA. Governors for sending out ilkegals to sanctuary statrs, Biden is still flying mostly illegal minors at night to sanctuary cities unannounced since late 2021.
Orange County airport in NY just got some unannounced recently.. The town mayor did not know about them coming.
They get bus to different locations in NYC and other nearby locales. Biden is doing the same thing as tje Governor’s sending them to NYC and other sanctuary cities. Biden is not helping financially either.
I’d rather my tax dollars were spent on one-way tickets back to their country of origin.
America: Come into our country illegally and be put up, all expenses paid in an NYC hotel while the working middle class tax payers can barely make ends meet.
The rest of the world: Come into our country illegally and be arrested and deported back to your country and slapped with heavy fines.