Residents protest plan to turn former Manhattan College dorm into migrant shelter
THE BRONX - Another potential migrant shelter in New York City was confronted Sunday by protests and counterprotests – this time outside Manhattan College in the Bronx.
City officials plan to turn a former dorm at the college into temporary emergency housing for asylum seekers.
Protestors took to the streets over talks that a former Manhattan College dorm located in the Bronx, specifically in Riverdale, might soon be turned into another emergency shelter for migrants.
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City officials have told some adult migrants that they have hit the 60-day limit for staying in the city's shelter system.
FOX 5 NY reached out to officials to confirm, but no response yet.
"I don’t know what’s going on, but I know this is wrong," one protestor said. "They are bringing migrants in that haven’t been vetted, and we have families all around here."
Anti-protestors spoke up too.
"Migrants have done nothing to anybody," one said. "They deserve to have a place to live. Anywhere, here is great, anywhere is fine."
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Stephanie Rudolph, who is a homeless rights' attorney with the Legal Aid Society, weighed in.
"New York City has had a right to shelter since the 70s due to litigation," Rudolph said. "And that litigation interpreted the state constitution to say that everybody should have a bed to sleep in every night no matter what, and our city, state and federal laws prohibit discrimination based on migrant status."
City officials have said the resources are thin again and again, asking the feds and the state for assistance.
"Prior to this migrant crisis, where so many new people are coming to New York City, there were over 50,000 people in shelter," Rudolph said. "But because of how many people have passed through New York, or come through New York, that number has more than doubled, so the city has created two parallel shelter systems."
Meantime, Mayor Eric Adams recently added a policy for adult migrants living in emergency shelters – a 30-day maximum now in any given shelter.
In a statement, he said, "another step in our efforts to help asylum seekers take the next step in their journeys."