Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Adams administration to move migrants to rec centers in Brooklyn
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Aug 4, 2023
Modified Aug 4, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Shutterstock
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Aug 4, 2023
Modified Aug 4, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Adams administration is moving ahead on a plan to move migrants seeking shelter into various parks and recreational facilities as more people show up each day seeking refuge in New York City.
Councilmember Alexa Avilés said the administration will be settling 100 asylum seekers into the Sunset Park recreation center. She said the center will close down to the public, but the pool will remain open. Likewise, Councilmember Lincoln Restler, said he was notified of an additional plan to use McCarren recreation center in North Brooklyn to settle another 80 asylum seekers. Restler said in a tweet that the relocation would begin “as soon as this weekend.”
The moves come as city officials say they’ve run out of space to house migrants in homeless shelters, including the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown where large groups of mostly migrant men were sleeping on its sidewalks. On Thursday, amid a legal challenge by the Legal Aid Society, the men were relocated.
Restler, who said the the pool and fitness center at McCarren will not be affected, struck a conciliatory tone in his tweets on the location, saying “we will do whatever we can to galvanize compassion & support for our new temporary neighbors.”
Avilés said she was frustrated by City Hall’s lack of communication.
“The Mayor has left us woefully uninformed and has refused to engage my office nor the community,” she said in a tweet. She too added that her community in Sunset Park “is stepping up with compassion as we have always done.”
There are more than 95,000 migrants who have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, according to the mayor’s office. Many of the first influx arrived from Venezuela, amid an ongoing economic decline.
The influx began last year when migrants started arriving in northern states — in part due to southern governors busing migrants north, as well as the city’s unique “right-to-shelter” laws that guarantee shelter to anyone seeking it. The Adams administration is looking to change that law, saying the shelter system housing these groups has been severely strained.
“We will continue pushing to secure more appropriate facilities to house people in need and expedite moving NYers from our shelter system into vacant permanent housing,” Restler said in his tweets.
City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak confirmed the moves in an email.
"New York City has been left alone to deal with a national crisis that demands difficult and swift decision-making," she said. "We are constantly searching for new places to give asylum seekers a place to rest their heads, and, most recently, located a wing of the McCarren Recreation Center and the Sunset Park Recreation Center in Brooklyn to house adult asylum seekers.”
This story has been updated with comment from the mayor's office.
Tagged
Asylum Seekers
parks
City Council
economy
Politics
eric adams
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Why New Yorkers should care about bats beyond spooky season
As Bat Week begins, state wildlife officials urge New Yorkers to protect bats, which play an important role in the environment.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 25, 2026 at 6:44 p.m. ET
Serbians forced to wait hours to vote at NYC consulate as Balkan nation holds election
Early voting may have kicked off in New York this weekend, but Serbian immigrants seeking to vote had a much tighter window on Sunday.
By
Jill Webb
and
Michael Sol Warren
News
Serbians forced to wait hours to vote at NYC consulate as Balkan nation holds election
Early voting may have kicked off in New York this weekend, but Serbian immigrants seeking to vote had a much tighter window on Sunday.
By
Jill Webb
and
Michael Sol Warren
Retired NYPD detective charged in George Washington Bridge killing out on $1M bail
By
Michael Sol Warren
Suicides decline in NYC, but inequities persist across groups
By
Jill Webb
Cuts to rural healthcare become key issue for upstate votes in race for NY governor
By
Samuel King
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .