Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday marked the final chapter of the infamous immigrant tent city at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, apologizing to New Yorkers for the giant shelter set up in their backyards.
“I just want to personally say I'm sorry. . . . because this is something none of us wanted. The federal government didn't do the job, so New Yorkers had to do it for them. “It was a huge, deserted tent that was being dismantled by workers,” Adams told reporters in front of a huge deserted tent that was being dismantled by workers.
“It was very difficult to watch,” Adams continued, calling the 2,000-bed facility in a federal park an “inconvenience.”
The tents at Floyd Bennett Field will be open to immigrants starting in November 2023. The former federal airfield was one of several sites converted into shelters in five boroughs to house the more than 200,000 asylum seekers who flooded the Big Apple. 2022.
“We should use this as a teaching moment. No city should have to deal with a national issue like immigration,” Adams said.
Councilor Jamie Williams, whose district includes the shelter site, was less forgiving, accusing Adams of “shameless” for not closing the facility sooner.
Ms Adams said she was looking forward to restoring the outdoor space into a “family-friendly park''.
