Hundreds protest new Queens migrant shelter at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
QUEENS - Neighbors rallied Wednesday outside the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens.
The shelter opened its doors Tuesday, and is expected to house up to 1,000 single adult men.
Some people at the rally said they have compassion for what migrants are going through, but feel the location of the shelter doesn’t make sense since it’s close to an elementary school, as well as a senior center.
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New migrant center at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center ready to house thousands
It’s expected to house up to one thousand single adult men, as the number of migrants under the city’s care nears 60,000.
But on the other side, migrants arriving to the new tent city said they also feel unsafe and confused.
Layrmir García is staying at the shelter. He told FOX 5 NY the conditions at the shelter are bad. He said he's not here to live off the U.S. government, but instead wants to work to support himself.
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The tent city is set up in a parking lot of the state psychiatric hospital campus.
State leaders OK-ed the use of the space as the city struggles to find temporary housing for the nearly 60,000 migrants currently in their care.
As for where people will go after this, that’s been the question since last spring.
Even though it was mostly peaceful Wednesday night, there were some tense moments with multiple arrests for disorderly conducted, including Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
The tent city was set up in just 10 days. There’s no word for how long it’ll stay.