NYC's Adams opens more migrant shelters; warns of ‘silent crisis’

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is setting up two new "humanitarian" shelters as the city grapples with thousands of asylum seekers.

On Tuesday, Adams announced that the city will be opening two new "large-scale shelters" at the Crowne Plaza JFK Airport hotel in Queens and Brooklyn, adding to a growing list of emergency sites across the city.

Under the plan, the hotel will serve as a humanitarian relief facility capable of housing more than 300 migrant families, while the yet-to-be revealed site in Brooklyn would be set up to house at least 1,400 adults, according to Adams.

Adams said the relief centers will provide a range of services and "ensuring asylum seekers can reach their desired destination if not New York City."

"Our shelter system has doubled in size, and although it's no longer on the front pages of our daily tabloids, we are still dealing with a silent crisis, "Adams told reporters at a briefing on the new relief centers. "The numbers are increasing, and it's continued to be a heavy lift for the city."

The new facilities will bring the total of emergency sites to 186 across the city's five boroughs, nearly half of which have opened in the past six months, New York City officials said.

Adams has been struggling to find temporary housing for the migrants in upstate counties, but the move faced fears of pushback from local officials. In June, Adams filed a lawsuit against 30 other localities that have issued migrant-related emergency orders seeking to block the relocations. The outcome of the legal challenge is still pending.

NYC officials say it costs about $385 a night to house and feed a migrant family, and one of the city's shelters is currently home to more than 53,000 asylum-seekers.

Overall, New York City has seen more than 87,200 asylum-seekers arrive in the city over the past year, Adams said, which has cost the city more than $1.2 billion. The city expects to spend more than $4 billion caring for migrants over the next two years. Adams has called for more state and federal funding to deal with the surge of migrants.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has pointed out that the state government has pumped at least $1 billion into the city to help deal with the migrant crisis.

New York Republicans have argued that until New York City does away with its "sanctuary" policy limiting cooperation with federal immigration officials, it will continue to see an influx of migrants.

While the Biden administration has reported a 70% decrease in illegal border crossings since Title 42 was lifted in early May, Adams said the city has seen no slow down with an average of 2,500 people arriving daily.

At Tuesday's briefing, Adams pleaded with Hochul and other Albany Democrats to help the city deal with the crush of migrants. He pointed out that New York City sent emergency response teams upstate this week to help the Hudson Valley region deal with devastating storms and flooding.

"New York City has always been here for the entire state," Adams said. "The storm of migrant asylum seekers have hit us for over a year now. We need help."