New York City is closing one of its largest migrant shelters “in the coming two months,” Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday.
The Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center at Floyd Bennett Field, located at a former airfield in the borough of Brooklyn, joins a growing list of 25 shelters the city has either closed or is in the processing of shutting down.
“Thanks to our smart management strategies, we’ve turned the corner, and this additional slate of shelter closures we’re announcing today is even more proof that we’re managing this crisis better than any other city in the nation,” Mayor Adams said in the statement, which further noted that “the number of asylum seekers in city shelters has decreased for 22 straight weeks and is now at its lowest point in over 17 months.”
News of the closure also comes ahead of President-elect Trump taking office. The Floyd Bennett Field site, which can house up to 2,000 people, was of particular concern among some immigrant rights advocates because it’s situated on federal land that’s leased by the city.
Advocates are worried that the incoming Trump administration might target those housed at the site as part of the president-elect’s campaign promise to deport undocumented immigrants.
Others also expressed concerns that the facility, which is in a flood zone, was unequipped to safely provide shelter for asylum seekers.
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Biden’s Border Crisis
