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Migrants directed to walk across Manhattan from Port Authority as city cuts free buses
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jul 9, 2023
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By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Jul 9, 2023
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Migrants who arrive at the Port Authority Bus Terminal are no longer being met with free buses and are instead directed to walk nearly a mile to an intake center, according to city officials.
Members of the National Guard stationed at the Manhattan transit hub have since at least July 4 distributed flyers to migrants with directions to the Roosevelt Hotel on E. 45th Street, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ office and advocates. The city has since May run a temporary shelter and checkpoint at the hotel for new arrivals who came to New York after crossing the Southern border.
The change in way the city handles its bus service for migrants — which has been funded by the state-led MTA — comes as the Adams administration continues to grapple with a migrant crisis that has pushed the city’s shelter population to over 100,000. Over the last year, tens of thousands of migrants have arrived in buses at Port Authority, many of them from Texas.
Kate Smart, a spokesperson for Adams, said on Saturday the city is redirecting bus service provided by the MTA. Instead of taking migrants from Port Authority to the Roosevelt Hotel, the agency's buses will take migrants from the Roosevelt Hotel to their final shelter placements, Smart said.
But the change by the city means many migrants arriving in New York by bus must now walk three blocks north and four avenues east across a densely-populated island they’ve never visited before.
A flyer distributed by National Guard members to migrants arriving at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, showing a map with directions to a city-run intake center at the Roosevelt Hotel.
Power Malu
Families with children make up the vast majority of migrants under the city's care, according to city data.
“These families and individuals, many of them with disabilities and many with very young children, have already experienced trauma at home and on their long journeys here,” said Joshua Goldfein, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society. “Forcing them to walk almost a mile to shelter intake facilities in the sweltering heat is shameful and cruel.”
He added: “The MTA buses are one of the very few contributions the governor has made to support the city in this effort. The state should send more buses.”
According to Legal Aid, Texas government officials have refused to bring the chartered buses directly to the Roosevelt Hotel, an arrangement the group said would solve the problem.
The decision to cut off the bus services outraged Power Malu, who runs a nonprofit group that has been providing transport, food and services for migrants.
“They planned on having mothers with tiny babies walking in the middle of the night during Fourth of July,” Malu said.
Malu said he arranged for Uber and Lyft drivers to take the migrants to the hotel and alerted the night of the holiday.
He said he alerted city officials that night, and an MTA bus eventually showed up at Port Authority.
Smart, Adams spokesperson, initially said the city had been short-staffed on the holiday.
However, the cut to the shuttle buses appeared to become permanent on Saturday, when there was again no bus at Port Authority for the newly arriving migrants.
“Buses are provided when requested by the city for emergency situations and when that occurs, discussions follow about sustained feasibility and reimbursement for associated costs," said MTA spokesperson Tim Minton.
Tagged
new york city
manhattan
transportation
Asylum Seekers
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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