Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Mayor Adams chews on distaste for Clinton Hill migrant shelter at private dinner
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Aug 21, 2024
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 .
Courtesy, Renee Collymore
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Aug 21, 2024
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
Amid mounting pressure to address complaints about a megashelter for migrants in Clinton Hill, Mayor Eric Adams made an appearance at a dinner party of concerned residents, the party host told Gothamist.
About 10 residents and business owners shared concerns about excess trash, panhandling, and the fatal shootings of migrant men last month at the Aug. 10 dinner with the mayor, who was sympathetic, according to attendees.
It was the latest sign that Adams is feeling the heat from the building controversy. Earlier in the summer, state Attorney General Letitia James, who lives near the shelters in the Hall Street area and once represented the neighborhood in the City Council, told a town hall meeting attended by hundreds of residents that she would do whatever she could to help solve the problem. Adams’ chief of staff attended the town hall meeting, but the mayor himself did not.
At the dinner, Adams told a handful of homeowners and the owners of a local Italian restaurant, café and coffee roastery that he shares their monthslong goal to downsize the nearly 3,000-person shelter — a claim he reiterated to reporters on Tuesday. He has not shared any details about when he plans to downsize the site, or how much he plans to do so.
"You can only march and protest but so much," said Renee Collymore, who convened the dinner as well as prior town halls and protests related to the shelter.
“Sometimes if you can't get help, you’ve just got to go through the boss,” added Collymore, who also the Democratic liaison for the local state assembly district. Collymore said she's known Adams for about 20 years.
The controversy in Clinton Hill is a microcosm of a larger debate over public space that has unfolded as the city manages over 200 emergency shelters that house some 65,000 migrants. Local protests have erupted elsewhere, from Staten Island to East Elmhurst, with longtime residents demanding the closure of local migrant shelters.
Mayoral spokesperson Liz Garcia said Adams’ dinner was a continuation of his administration’s communication efforts, after his staff attended past town halls in the neighborhood.
Mayor Adams dined with Clinton Hill residents concerned about migrant shelter earlier this month..
Courtesy, Renee Collymore
At a press conference on Tuesday, Adams said the dinner was also an opportunity to educate the public about his administration's efforts to manage the migrant influx, as well as obstacles it has encountered along the way. He cited examples such as the buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, as well as migrants' inability to receive work permits until six months after they apply for asylum.
“They left saying they had a whole new respect for what this administration is doing,” Adams said, referring to the dinner attendees. “Everyday New Yorkers don’t know what limitations we have.”
Neighborhood resident Melissa Turetsky, who attended the dinner, said she came to sympathize with the difficulty of the mayor's position in handling the recent migrant influx.
“It just made me appreciate how big this problem is,” Turetsky said. “A lot of it is beyond his control.”
Collymore said she’s organized a volunteer research team to find other potential shelter locations, and potentially expedite the downsizing of the Hall Street shelter.
Councilmember Crystal Hudson has written to Adams, requesting that he co-host a town hall to address residents' concerns. Hudson's spokesperson Alejandro Gonzalez said the private dinner didn't fulfill that demand.
Hudson has also called on the administration to provide extra resources and services at the shelter, such as English classes and trash pickup, and to end the 30- and 60-day shelter stay limits for migrants.
Meanwhile, some residents and housing advocates have decried the movement to downsize the shelter as an example of NIMBYism, or “Not In My Backyard.” Neighbors in favor of the downsizing say they don't oppose a shelter nearby, but want it to be smaller, for their sake as well as for the well-being of migrants inside.
“The NIMBY people always say the same thing,” Legal Aid staff attorney Josh Goldfein previously told Gothamist. “It’s nonsense.”
Tagged
brooklyn
immigration
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Hochul names NY AG James as special prosecutor on alleged rape case at Cornell University
The governor said she does not have faith that the police and the Tompkins County DA effectively investigated the case.
By
Jon Campbell
Published Oct 1, 2026 at 9:04 p.m. ET
Founder of NYC LGBTQ therapy practice charged with rape after alleged sexual assaults
Joseph LoGiudice is the second therapist at Liberation Psychotherapy to be accused of sexually abusing a patient.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
Founder of NYC LGBTQ therapy practice charged with rape after alleged sexual assaults
Joseph LoGiudice is the second therapist at Liberation Psychotherapy to be accused of sexually abusing a patient.
By
Giulia Heyward
US judge in NY indefinitely blocks ICE from making arrests at immigration courthouses
By
Arya Sundaram
Lawyer challenging NYC rent freeze releases Mamdani officials’ emails and text messages
By
David Brand
Push to strengthen NY sexual assault laws gathers steam after Cornell rape allegations
By
Walter Wuthmann
and
Jon Campbell
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 .