RANDALL’S ISLAND, N.Y. (PIX11) – Contractors and city officials on Monday began to lay the groundwork for large tent structures, which will serve as migrant housing, on some of the soccer fields of Randall’s Island.
Mayor Eric Adams’ office announced the new Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center as the number of asylum seekers in the city’s care surpassed 57,200. The facility will serve up to 2,000 adults seeking asylum, according to the mayor’s office.
The center is being built in partnership with New York State. The state will reimburse New York City for the associated costs of the site, including construction, maintenance, and staffing, per the mayor’s office.
“As the number of asylum seekers in our care continues to grow by hundreds every day, stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond, it has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night,” Adams said in a statement. “We’re grateful to Gov. Hochul and New York State for their partnership in opening this new humanitarian relief center and covering the costs, and we need more of the same from all levels of government. We will continue to work with the governor and elected officials across the state to address this crisis as New York City continues to do more than any other level of government.”
Adams and his team have signaled for months that the influx of migrants was unsustainable without additional federal support and has continued to respond to questions about using park facilities with a familiar reframe: “All options are on the table.”
Migrants were seen sleeping on the streets in large numbers last week for the first time during the crisis — with the city’s emergency shelter system of around 200 sites — out of room. To alleviate the overcrowding and get people off the sidewalks, parts of the recreation centers at Sunset Park and McCarren Park were commandeered to house migrants.
Tenting was previously used on the island in the parking lot of Icahn Stadium but was later dismantled.
