QUEENS VILLAGE, Queens (PIX11) — It has taken less than two weeks to turn what was once a parking lot in Queens Village into the latest emergency relief center for incoming asylum seekers at the site of the former Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.
Dr. Ted Long of NYC Health and Hospitals and several other city officials led a guided media tour Tuesday.
The new state-funded facility has a maximum capacity of 1,000 beds designated solely for adult men, with the first 100 or so expected to arrive Tuesday.
“We’re screening for active tuberculosis, doing a skin exam for varicella or chickenpox. We’re doing a COVID test on everyone coming in,” said Dr. Long.
The main dorm hall, as in other tent facilities, is lined with cots and personal lockers.
Asylum seekers will have the same access to food, caseworkers, family connection, and other social services.
“Here at our site, we have security guards that are here at every part of the facility, 24/7,” said Dr. Long.
Additionally, the men will be allowed to come and go as they please.
But it’s the coming and going into the surrounding Queens neighborhoods that has triggered reactions from outraged residents in Bellerose and Queens Village, along with pointed responses from Mayor Eric Adams; including one over the weekend.
“People are devastated by the idea of bringing a thousand single, able-bodied migrants right into our neighborhood, with no curfew. They’re unvetted. What diseases do they have? Who are they? Some of them come from Africa!” one man said to the mayor.
The mayor is seen on video listening, and then responding to the resident.
“A local city does not have the authority to deport people. If I were to do what you said, I would be breaking the law. I could get sanctioned by the federal government, and that would take away dollars from this city. So if we’re going to come up with a solution, let’s come up with one that doesn’t break the law, to help us fix this problem,” said Mayor Adams.
The mayor joined a host of local officials earlier Tuesday in Brooklyn, calling for more federal aid.
Fabien Levy, the newly appointed deputy mayor of communications, said the site is not exactly on the list of desirable locations for a new asylum seeker facility.
“We are out of good options. We’re out of even ‘OK’ options. These are the only options left. It’s a question of do you want people sleeping on the street? Or do you want people sleeping on a cot,” said Levy.
Federal officials said they have already sent $140 million to New York City, more than any other interior city, to address the asylum seeker crisis, and will continue to assess the city’s needs and available resources.
At the new tent facility in Queens Village, city officials said there is already one bus stop at the main entrance. If necessary, additional buses along the route will be added, officials said.
Asylum seekers can stay out for a maximum of three nights before they lose their bed at the facility. City officials expect the facility to fill up quickly.
