City officials are closing an old storage facility in the South Bronx for up to 2,200 migrant men from the embattled tent city of Randall Island, saying the asylum-seeker crisis is slowing. I'm preparing.
And it's right near “The Hub,” one of the Big Apple's most drug-infested strips.
“Wrong move!” neighbor Selene Bilal told the Post. “We need to work with the people who are already here. The question is: Why the Bronx? Why the Bronx?
“It's going to be dangerous,” said the 21-year-old videographer. “We don't know who these people are. We're not talking about 10 people. We're talking about thousands. That's a lot.”
The plan, which received final approval last month, calls for the opening of a shelter next month at 825 E. 141st St. to house immigrant men from the troubled tent city on Randall Island, records show. are.
Records show the city will pay between $250,000 and $340,000 to renovate the building after approving an emergency contract that did not go through a standard bidding process.
The city has been forced to scramble to make room for migrants flooding into the city starting in 2022, converting old schools and churches into shelters and setting up tent cities on Randalls Island and Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field. was built, but was closed by the city over the weekend. .
News of the plans comes after City Hall announced that the influx of migrants into the five boroughs has slowed significantly as the number of asylum seekers in city shelters dwindles.
In October, city officials announced the closure of a large encampment on Randall's Island that officials say has become a breeding ground for the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, and another at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. A similar announcement was made regarding the dismantling of tent cities.
Officials said the evacuees will be transferred to other evacuation centers.
They neglected to mention new facilities in the Bronx, which came as a surprise to area merchants and residents, who said crime is already a concern in the area even without an influx of immigrants. .
Problems in the area include The Hub, the district's commercial district exposed by the Post, where drug addicts shoot up in the open and dealers peddle their wares without fear of reprisal. There is.
“Instead of dismantling the hub city’s open-air drug market, the city is treating the South Bronx as a dumping ground for an endless influx of shelters,” said Bronx District Representative Richie Torres (D-N.Y.). Ta.
“The Bronx is treated differently than other parts of the city,” Torres said. “We are treated as a second-class borough of New York City.”
Nearly 230,000 immigrants have been housed in taxpayer-funded shelters in the city since the influx began in 2022, and just over 50,000 remain in the facilities, according to city statistics. are.
For Bronx locals, the plans for immigrant shelters on their block don't feel like anything is slowing down.
“I had no idea,” a local store manager told the Post. “We are concerned. We are concerned in general because there are people on the streets and there are reports of theft. The situation is going to get worse.
“I think they're disposing of it in a shady area outside the Bronx where they don't think it's going to affect people,” said the man, who requested anonymity. “I'm concerned about the safety of my female employees. I may have to change some shifts.”
A woman who works the early morning shift in her neighborhood cited a recent arson attack on a New Jersey woman sleeping on a Brooklyn subway that was attributed to an illegal immigrant.
“That's what's scary,” she said. “You'll see a lot of people hanging out, drinking and doing things, but you have to walk past them to get to the train. We're in a dead-end area. I'm working, but there's no police around here.
“More problems will arise,” she added. “I think it's going to become more violent.”
Local maintenance workers said the area was already at risk without new migrant shelters.
“It's a dead end,” he said. “People don't go out, they stay indoors. They're afraid. Here they rob you. You don't see anyone walking here at night.”
A City Hall representative said in an email Tuesday that the shelter is a “temporary relocation” as officials continue to reduce the number of places to house migrants.
“Thanks to our strong response to this unprecedented humanitarian crisis, New York City saw the population in its emergency shelter system decline for more than six consecutive months and was able to close 46 migrant shelters in one year. '' said the official.
This will save taxpayers $2.8 billion.
The city had 263 shelters in the midst of the migrant crisis, and 190 are currently operating.
