Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 15
NY1: The Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter in Brooklyn will close in the next two months amid a drop in the number of migrants in the city’s care, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday.
The controversial shelter is one of 25 shelters that will have closed between last month and March of next year, City Hall said in a release.
Fifteen of the shelters are in New York City, while 10 others are elsewhere in New York state, the release said.
When it opened in Marine Park in the fall of 2023, the Floyd Bennett Field shelter almost immediately drew criticism for thrusting families into accommodations that were cold and miles away from train stations.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Brooklyn and Rockaway residents protested the site after officials announced it would play host to migrants.
In a statement, Adams celebrated the closures, saying his administration successfully pushed the Biden-Harris administration to impose stricter asylum restrictions at the southern border.
The number of asylum seekers staying in city shelters has hit its lowest point in more than 17 months after declining for 22 straight weeks, according to City Hall.
As of Dec. 2, City Hall said it had closed a total of 11 migrant shelters following the drop, including shelters at the Imperial Hotel in Brooklyn and the Americana Inn in Manhattan.
Adams said the city will “continue looking for more sites to consolidate and close, and more opportunities to save taxpayer money, as we continue to successfully manage this response.”
The Floyd Bennett Field shelter was equipped to host up to 2,000 migrants, according to the city. It’s not clear how many migrants are currently being housed at the site.
