Dec. 11, 2024 By Athena Dawson
Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday the closure of 25 migrant shelters across New York City and upstate New York, with several facilities in Queens already shut down.
The closures, part of the administration’s efforts to manage the asylum seeker crisis, will continue between December and March.
The list includes only four Queens-based shelters, all of which have already closed: the JFK Respite Center, The Quality Inn JFK, Voyage Hotel in LIC, and The Essence at JFK.
Council Member Joann Ariola, who represents the Rockaways, welcomed the news, particularly the upcoming closure of the Floyd Bennett Field facility on Jan. 15.
“I was so involved with that particular site because the only thing separating the Rockaway Peninsula from Floyd Bennett Field is the Gil Hodges Bridge,” Ariola said. “Anything that was happening at Floyd Bennett Field could impact the Rockaway Peninsula and had been impacting the Rockaway Peninsula negatively.”
Council Member Joann testified in front of Congress in an attempt to halt the creation of a migrant shelter at Floyd Bennet Field in 2023.Photo courtesy of Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit
Ariola, who had previously testified about the “unlivable conditions” at the facility, expressed relief over its closure.
“It was never a safe place for anyone to reside for a long period of time, especially with a bad winter being projected coming in,” she said. Ariola also linked the decision to the upcoming presidential administration, adding, “People are realizing now that there will be a new president that’s sworn in on January 20. However, he is already making strides to correct wrongs that have already been going on.”
The Floyd Bennett Field shelter faced significant opposition from Brooklyn and Rockaway residents before it opened. Protests cited safety concerns, the field’s flood-prone location, and its lack of transit access. Ariola joined other officials in filing an injunction to halt the shelter, but the lawsuit ultimately failed.
The Adams administration credited their advocacy for the Biden-Harris administration’s executive orders at the border and new strategies such as reticketing, case management, and 30-60-day notices for the declining shelter census. These efforts, officials said, have resulted in 22 consecutive weeks of reduced shelter numbers, saving the city $2.3 billion.
The 25 closures include 15 shelters in New York City and 10 upstate. Randall’s Island’s Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center is also scheduled to close on Feb. 28.
Meanwhile, the Creedmoor shelter in Queens Village, a site of significant controversy since its opening, was notably absent from the list of shelters slated for closure.
Local officials, including Assembly Member Edward Braunstein, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, and Council Member Linda Lee, expressed their frustration in a joint statement, calling the omission “absolutely unacceptable.”
The officials reiterated their long-standing concerns about the 1,300-bed shelter for single male migrants, located on the Creedmoor campus, citing its negative impact on nearby residents, schools, and senior centers.
They also referenced a troubling incident in October, when armed fugitives were reportedly found residing at the facility, further highlighting what they described as “alarming security inadequacies.” Urging immediate action, the officials stated, “The Creedmoor shelter site should be long-shuttered. The Mayor’s Office must add this site to its list of planned closures.”
City Hall says the number of asylum seekers in city shelters is now at its lowest in over 17 months, with officials projecting further progress as the closures continue.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday, Dec 10, that 25 migrant shelters will be closed across New York State.Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office
Adams continued to praise the management strategies in a statement released on Tuesday, saying that the city has “ turned the corner.” He added that the list of slated shelter closures released on Tuesday shows that the city is managing the crisis “better than any other city in the nation.”
“Our intensive case management, paired with 30- and 60-day policies, have helped more than 170,000 migrants take their next steps on their journeys because migrants don’t come here to live in our shelter system — they come here to pursue the American Dream. We’re going to continue looking for more sites to consolidate and close, and more opportunities to save taxpayer money, as we continue to successfully manage this response,” he said.
Molly Schaeffer, executive director of the mayor’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations, said that the Floyd Bennett Field site provided critical shelter and resources to hundreds of families in need and continues to be an integral part of the system created to care for the over 225,000 asylum seekers in the city. “Today’s announcement is a direct reflection of the tireless commitment of our teams and the tremendous work they do every day to ensure that people are ready to move on to the next steps in their journeys to self-sufficiency. New York City continues to lead from the front,” Schaeffer said in a statement.