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Adams announces third relief center for asylum seekers in NYC
By
Chau Lam
Published Nov 3, 2022
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By
Chau Lam
Published Nov 3, 2022
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New York City plans to open a third emergency relief shelter for migrants at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday.
The city is renting 175 rooms at the Hotel Wolcott to use as a so-called Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center that will serve single adult women and adult families, the mayor said in a press release.
“While the number of asylum seekers has slowed in recent weeks, we are still seeing a steady stream of single adult women and adult families arriving in New York City in need of assistance,” Adams said in a statement.
New arrivals who are single women or families without minor children will be sent to the Midtown hotel, where city officials will offer them shelter, food, and medical care, the mayor said. There will also be caseworkers on hand to connect migrants to other services.
“The city needs to continue to be prepared to meet the ongoing humanitarian crisis,” said Anne Williams-Isom, deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, which will oversee the relief center.
This is the third facility New York City is opening to serve the influx of asylum seekers, many of whom are being bused to the city from states along the U.S.-Mexico border. When the facility will begin accepting people is unclear. The press release from City Hall says the facility will open "soon" but spokespeople for the mayor did not immediately respond to questions over when that might be.
The influx of new migrants has strained a shelter system that was already operating at near capacity and is threatening to strain city social services, the mayor said last month.
So far, city officials estimate there are more than 22,600 asylum seekers who have come to New York City since the spring, with the majority living in the city’s shelter system.
The Adams administration has had to scramble to find space to house the influx of migrants. It's opened 57 hotels as emergency shelters, built a 1,000-person tent complex on Randall’s Island for single men, and is utilizing rooms at the Row Hotel, also in Midtown, as a relief center for families.
As of Tuesday, there were 63,437 people living in city shelters according to the daily census report from the Department of Social Services, which oversees the shelter system.
The mayor – who declared a state of emergency amid the influx of migrants last month – previously said it will cost the city more than $1 billion to care for the migrants in this fiscal year.
“As we continue to provide support to the more than 16,800 people in our care, we continue to work with federal and state partners to seek financial assistance as we deal with this unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” Adams said.
Tagged
new york city
housing
Asylum Seekers
eric adams
Chau Lam
Chau Lam was a reporter at Gothamist.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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