New York City has closed seven more emergency shelters in recent days, bringing the total to 11 last month due to a sharp decline in the flow of migrants, the Post reported.
That's 1,800 rooms removed from the emergency shelter system, but a staggering 56,600 migrants still remain in city custody, according to city data.
More than 400 new immigrants entered the city's shelter system from Nov. 18 to 24, but more than 1,200 immigrants left, a decrease of 800 in one week alone.
These numbers are in sharp contrast to the situation in January, when around 4,000 new migrants were flooding into the city each week.
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said, “Thanks to our city's successful management and nation-leading programs that help migrants leave the city's custody, the city's emergency migrant shelter system will be in place by the end of November. Approximately 1,800 rooms or beds will be removed.” .
“This is a testament to the hard work of our staff and many partners to ensure that thousands of immigrants are not sleeping on the streets every night, and to the city's efforts to ensure that more than 167,000 immigrants are not sleeping on the streets. This is proof that we have supported the journey. “
City officials say more shelters will close in the coming weeks if the trend continues for more than a month, with fewer arrivals and more evacuations. Probably.
A midtown hotel that closed last week as an emergency shelter for immigrant families will reopen to tourists later this week, but is already fully booked.
Midtown's Americana has announced it will reopen as a tourist hotel on Dec. 5, but is already fully booked as the Christmas holiday season approaches.
“It's already sold out,” a front desk employee told The Sunday Post.
Gerald Cassar, chairman of the state's Conservative Party, said the immigration crisis may have taken hotel rooms off the market and driven up prices, deterring tourists from coming to New York.
“It's not just going to cost taxpayers to protect people. We need to look at the opportunity cost, the cost of people not coming to New York because they feel it's not safe for tourists,” Kasser said. said.
The Adams administration has been grappling with the migrant crisis since spring 2022 and has faced backlash as local residents are unhappy with the location of some shelters. Meanwhile, immigration advocates have criticized Adams after he imposed limits on the length of stay for asylum seekers.
The city and President Biden have been at odds over the crisis, with Trump accusing the president of failing to adequately address the border crisis.
The city stopped sending migrants to four other emergency shelters last month, and Adams announced this month that the city's migrant detention centers in Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Orange and Westchester counties in the northern part of the state He promised to close all 10 locations.
The city also plans to close a large migrant camp on Randall Island in February after drastically reducing the number of migrants it shelters.
It's unclear why shelters in Midtown, a tourist hotspot ahead of the holiday season, weren't prioritized for closure, with only two of 11 hotels in the high-traffic area closing recently.
Officials said the closures are based on a number of factors, including the terms of each hotel's lease agreement. There are still at least five hotels catering to immigrants in Midtown.
President-elect Donald Trump will take office early next year with his hand-picked border czar, Tom Homan, to push for aggressive enforcement of border crossings and stronger deportations of illegal immigrants. The number of hotels and facilities may decline even more dramatically.
Still, the Adams administration said it plans to continue using the hotel as an emergency shelter for now.
New York City says it plans to set aside 14,000 hotel rooms to shelter immigrants through 2025, as housing costs for asylum seekers over the past three years are expected to exceed $2.3 billion did.
More than 100 hotels are still accepting immigrants, and total spending on immigrant services in the Big Apple is expected to reach $6.1 billion, according to city data.
As of November 24, there were more than 115,300 people in shelters in the city, including more than 56,600 migrants.
Since spring 2022, more than 224,400 immigrants have come through the city's intake system.
Here are the shelters that have closed in the past week:
- JFK Respite Center. 197 Northern Boundary Road, Jamaica. The number of beds is 827. Available for single adult male immigrants from June 2023
- Essence JFK. 97-01 Waltham Street, Jamaica. There are 71 rooms. Available for immigrant families from July 2023
- voyage hotel. 37-10 11th St., Long Island City. Room 51. Used as a shelter for immigrant families with children from July 2023
- Sleep Inn / 687 Third Ave., Brooklyn. 50 rooms. Used as a shelter for immigrant families with children from July 2023
- Americana Inn. 69 West 38th St., Manhattan. There are 46 rooms. Used as a shelter for immigrant families with children from July 2023
- Hotel RL. 1080 Broadway, Brooklyn. 65 rooms. Used as a shelter for immigrant families with children from May 2023
- Imperial Hotel. 2550 East New York Ave., Brooklyn. There are 59 rooms. Used as a shelter for immigrant families with children from May 2023
