New York City Mayor Eric Adams has scrapped a plan to convert an abandoned luxury apartment complex into a shelter for illegal immigrants after the Harlem community opposed the proposal.
Adams showed up unannounced at a community meeting in Upper Manhattan on Thursday. There, local residents gathered to discuss rumors about the building at the corner of 130th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Avenue. According to CBS News, preparations were secretly underway to accept the migrants.
The building was originally advertised as a luxury home with a pool, but had been vacant for about 10 years after the developer defaulted on the loan, the paper reported. According to city records, it was built in 2007 and has 35 units.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams withdrew a plan to convert an abandoned luxury apartment complex into a shelter for illegal immigrants after the Harlem community opposed the proposal. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images and Google Maps)
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The building was then leased to a nonprofit organization working with the city’s Department of Social Services/Homeless Services and used as a shelter for the city’s immigrant and native homeless population, the New York Post reported.
Residents witnessed bunk boxes being loaded into the building. So when they didn’t get an answer, they called a meeting. They said they were angry about the lack of communication and being kept in the dark.
“No, I don’t agree with this becoming a sanctuary for asylum seekers when there are people here who need space,” said a local who supports underserved communities. said Tiffany Fulton, executive director of Silent Voices United, a nonprofit organization.
Central Harlem, where approximately 44% of residents are Black, is generally a low-income area, with a poverty rate of 28.4% compared to 18.0% citywide, according to the 2020 Census.
Asylum seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, which has been converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived immigrant families, on September 27, 2023 in New York City. (Selcuk Achar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A sign at the rally read: “There are millions of immigrants. What will happen to our youth programs?” Adams said the illegal immigration crisis could cost New York City up to $12 billion by 2025. At least 170,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in New York since spring 2022.
At the meeting, Mr. Adams appeared and answered questions from residents.
“You’re the mayor. I don’t want to hear any excuses,” said one Harlem resident.
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However, the mayor said illegal immigrants will not be housed in the building, and instead local homeless New Yorkers will be housed.
“I told the team, ‘Find out what’s going on here,'” Adams said. “If there is a long-term need in the community, we’re not going to move people into a brand new building. That’s not going to happen.
“There will be no immigrants or asylum seekers on that land.”
Single immigrant men, primarily from West Africa, gather in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village neighborhood of New York City on January 27, 2024. Volunteers distribute food and clothing. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
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The mayor’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on this matter.
Harlem resident Regina Smith told CBS her neighbors feel neglected and there are already too many homeless shelters in the area.
“We are being excluded from the community,” she says.
Meanwhile, resident Leslie Johnson said the units should be used for affordable housing instead.
“These apartments could be used for us to move into,” Johnson told CBS.
