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NYC receiving more than 2K migrants each week as more buses arrive at Port Authority
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Catalina Gonella
Published Sep 6, 2023
Modified Sep 6, 2023
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
Catalina Gonella
Published Sep 6, 2023
Modified Sep 6, 2023
Share
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Six more buses carrying migrants from Texas were expected to arrive at Port Authority beginning on Wednesday, according to an Adams administration official, as the city continues to receive thousands of asylum seekers each week.
“It’s a dire situation,” said Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom, who confirmed the numbers during an afternoon briefing with reporters at City Hall.
She said the continuing influx showed how the city has become a desired destination for migrants and that the administration desperately needs more state and federal intervention.
“The whole globe knows that if you go to New York City, we're going to do what we always do, right?” she said. “We have a big heart. We have compassion. We're going to take care of people.”
She added, “And while we love that, and we are so proud of that, I think in a way it's being used against us.”
More than 110,000 migrants have arrived in New York City over the last year, now arriving at an average rate of 2,400 a week, according to the Adams administration. The ongoing crisis began in part when governors from southern states started sending asylum seekers to major northern U.S. cities, largely run by Democrats. Now, nearly 60,000 migrants are in the city’s shelter system, officials said.
Two buses arrived at Port Authority on Wednesday morning, with four more expected by early Thursday, according to Power Malu, an activist who has been assisting migrants arriving at Port Authority.
Malu told Gothamist that most of the new arrivals were families, including those with very young children.
The city on Wednesday announced a new “Emergency Humanitarian Response and Relief Center” at a vacant office on Austell Place in Long Island City, Queens, the 15th such facility to date. The location had previously been operating as what the city refers to as an “emergency respite center,” which is intended to serve as a temporary waiting facility. Recent renovations at the facility have allowed officials to deem it a humanitarian relief center, which serves as a longer-term shelter that the city has erected outside its traditional shelter system.
As asylum seekers continue to arrive in large numbers, a larger operation was needed, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. At first, the large-scale congregate shelter will accommodate up to 330 single men, but will later be expanded to hold almost 1,000 asylum seekers, City Hall said.
In a statement Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams again pleaded with the federal government for more help in dealing with the crisis.
“The transition of this site into a new humanitarian relief center at Austell Place is an important next step in our efforts to do our part, but, as we’ve said month after month, only more support from our state and federal partners and real policy change in Washington will truly address this crisis,” Adams said.
Tagged
new york city
queens
housing
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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Catalina Gonella
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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