Mayor Eric Adams asked if he could use the Flatiron to receive NYC migrants transported by bus
New York City is preparing for an expected increase in migrant arrivals, with city officials considering housing migrants in the Flatiron Building, in tents in Central Park or in hangars at JFK Airport.
As pandemic-era migration control Title 42 expires on Thursday, large crowds of migrants are congregating at the U.S.-Mexico border to prepare to cross.
New York City has already taken in 61,000 migrants this year and is currently hosting more than 37,000 in city-owned or city-funded shelters.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, says the facilities will cost the city an estimated $4.2 billion in 2023 and 2024 alone.
On Sunday evening, his chief of staff, Camille Joseph Varlack, told heads of city services they had until 5 p.m. Monday to come up with ideas for spaces to house more migrants.
Eric Adams was pictured Saturday at a food bank. His government is bracing for an expected influx of migrants when Title 42 expires on Thursday
A bus carrying the Texas migrants arrives at the Port Authority bus station in New York on May 3
The iconic Flatiron Building in Manhattan is one of the possible refuges for migrants. The owner quickly said that this was not possible, because the building is being renovated and gutted
The facilities had to be at least 10,000 square meters in size; contain “no known health risks” and have running water, according to an email obtained by The New York Times.
“With more asylum seekers arriving daily, this influx has pushed our reception system to a breaking point and we must create emergency shelters,” she wrote, according to The New York Post.
“We are asking city authorities to conduct an internal review of any properties or spaces in your portfolio that may be available to be repurposed to house asylum seekers as temporary shelter spaces.
“If there is current programming, add the programming.”
Among the proposed options were the Flatiron Building; tents in Central Park, Prospect Park, or Flushing Meadows; hangars at JFK airport; and the grounds of Aqueduct Racetrack.
Tents to house migrants could be placed in Central Park under a proposal made Monday
On Monday morning, city officials asked leaders of New York’s real estate lobby for help.
Officials want landlords to consider using vacant buildings to temporarily house migrants.
“I think she and several owners are going to look into that,” said Jim Whelan, chairman of the New York Real Estate Board, which represents nearly every major landlord in New York City.
But he warned, “It’s not an easy thing to do.”
One of the Flatiron Building’s owners, Jeff Gural, said it was impossible to turn the now-empty site into a shelter.
“There are no bathrooms, no heating, the building is gutted,” he told The New York Times.
City officials also inquire about the use of state and federal buildings such as armories and military bases.
Officials have long considered ways to adapt the now-disused Kings Park Psychiatric Center in Long Island.
They’ve talked about closing down city streets to house tents and commission cruise ships – an idea that would prove popular among Adams’ team.
On Friday, Adams announced they would voluntarily send migrants north to Rockland County and Orange County — a proposal that was immediately met with strong backlash from local officials.
Fabien Levy, a spokesman for the mayor, reiterated Adams’ request for the Biden administration to do more to help.
“This weekend alone, we received hundreds of asylum seekers each day, and as Title 42 is lifted this week, we expect more to arrive in our city on a daily basis,” he said.
“We are considering a multitude of options, but, as we’ve been saying for a year, we desperately need federal and state support to manage this crisis.”