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Migrants' budding tent encampment under the BQE in Brooklyn dismantled by city officials
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Jul 21, 2023
Modified Jul 21, 2023
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Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Jul 21, 2023
Modified Jul 21, 2023
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A makeshift encampment for some 15 newly arrived migrants living under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Brooklyn is no more.
City sanitation workers and the NYPD were on the scene on Friday morning, dismantling the collection of tents in a parking lot off of Hall Street and Park Avenue in Clinton Hill.
They threw away personal belongings, including food, water, clothes, important documents, and bottles the new arrivals – all men – could exchange for cash, the migrants told Gothamist.
“I don't know what to do because they left me naked in the street without clothes, without anything,” said Jose Alvarado, 41, shortly after the tents were cleared.
The scene earlier in July under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway where migrants established a tent encampment in Brooklyn.
Arun Venugopal / Gothamist
The removal comes on the heels of a new campaign by Mayor Eric Adams and his administration to discourage migrants at the southern border from seeking refuge in New York City. At once, the city announced a new policy requiring some migrants to reapply for shelter after 60 days, with the aim of freeing up space for more new arrivals.
The city’s shelter population has topped 103,000, including more than 53,000 migrants who have arrived since the spring of last year.
After sanitation workers and police dismantled the encampment, a black van transported about a dozen men off the site; a city homeless services worker on the scene told the men they were being taken to the Roosevelt Hotel on East 45th Street.
Later, though, the transported men refused placement in city shelters -- this after being taken to an intake center, according to City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak.
Orange-clad city homeless services workers confer with migrants who had set up a makeshift encampment under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Brooklyn. The collection of tents housed a dozen or more asylum seekers, some of whom had been asked to leave a nearby shelter. The encampment was dismantled by city sanitation workers and the NYPD Friday morning.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
Several migrants said they would not stay in certain shelter facilities because they feared for their safety.
Mamelak said in a statement: “Our outreach teams are constantly engaging with people experiencing homelessness to offer them a clean, safe place to stay. This is no exception.”
Spokespeople for the Department of Sanitation, NYPD and Department of Social Services didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Some of the encampment's occupants told Gothamist earlier this week that they had been asked to leave a nearby shelter, where they had complained about conditions. Mamelak said they had violated shelter rules. Occupants resided in the makeshift encampment for a week, and some for longer.
Migrants, homeless outreach workers, city sanitation staff and the NYPD mill about under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, where the city dismantled a tent encampment the migrants had set up.
Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
Mutual aid workers and nearby residents provided assistance to the migrant men, including tents, food and other supplies – some of which are now discarded. At the same time, nearby Clinton Hill residents expressed safety concerns and complained about a lack of communication from the city.
“I'm glad the city is finally being proactive, but it is still far from a solution,” Clinton Hill resident Christa Capati said after the Friday-morning encampment sweep. “Hopefully they release their plans for how to transition everyone effectively in the coming days.”
She added: “Definitely have mixed feelings — I hope the guys have somewhere to go.”
Both homeless advocates and migrants said the recent actions – particularly limiting shelter stays for people with nowhere else to go – could result in more homeless encampments popping up in the city.
A black van with the Department of Homeless Services arrived around 10 a.m. to move the migrants, but several of the men initially refused. Some said they feared having to stay in another shelter with worse conditions than the one they recently left. They relented after they were told they were being taken to the Roosevelt Hotel, though their final destination remained unclear.
"We're just trying to find you a good place, man," DHS staffer Pedro Pinela told the first man to board. Others followed, carrying belongings in backpacks, coolers, and duffel bags.
Senior Reporter Arun Venugopal of the Race and Justice Unit contributed to this article.
Tagged
brooklyn queens expressway
Asylum Seekers
housing
Race And Justice Unit
eric adams
homeless
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.
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