Floyd Bennett Field to house over 2,500 asylum seekers
BROOKLYN - The Biden administration has given New York the green light to house over 2,500 migrants and asylum seekers at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
The news comes on the same day that New York City began taking adult male migrants to a new tent shelter on Randall's Island.
So far, more than 100,000 migrants have passed through the city since last spring. The city has set up more than 200 emergency shelter sites to house migrants.
NYC opens Randall's Island migrant shelter for up to 3,000 people
There are a total of six tents that will hold up to 3,000 single and married adults at the center.
Though Mayor Eric Adams is currently overseas in Israel, he released a statement expressing gratitude to the state for committing to paying for the site. However, he continues to advocate for a comprehensive long-term strategy.
"We've been forced to play an unsustainable game of 'whack-a-mole', opening new site after new site as asylum seekers continue to arrive by the thousands," Adams said.
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State leaders OK-ed the use of the space as New York City struggles to find temporary housing for the nearly 60,000 migrants currently in their care.
While Hochul said she would not issue an executive order to force counties in New York to house migrants, doubling down on them needing to stay in the city, Hochul did announce an additional $20M to go towards helping migrants file their asylum seeker claims.
Meanwhile, a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday that will examine how the city and state should care for migrants.