Mayor Eric Adams has announced the opening of a fourth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center that will accommodate male asylum seekers in New York City.
The new center will be located in a midtown New York City hotel which will have 600 available rooms to house asylum seekers.
“We continue to welcome asylum seekers arriving in New York City with compassion and care. This Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center will provide asylum seekers with a place to stay, access support, and get to their final destination,” said Adams.
Thousands of asylum seekers have been bused to New York, Martha’s Vineyard, Sacramento, Washington and Chicago with the encouragement of Republican governors in Arizona, Florida, and Texas. The bussing of asylum seekers to Martha’s Vineyard, ostensibly under false pretenses, has prompted a criminal investigation in Texas.
“As the estimated number of asylum seekers in New York City surpasses at least 23,800, this specific humanitarian relief center will assist newly arriving single adult men and provide them with a range of services, in addition to ensuring they can reach their desired destination,” read a press release from the mayor’s office.
The number of arrivals has slowed dramatically, prompting the city to demobilize the Randall’s Island Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center, which has housed new arrivals. The occupants of the Randall’s Island center will be offered transport to the hotel starting next week.
“The use of this space as another humanitarian relief center is a smart approach to an unprecedented crisis,” said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III.
Adams declared a state of emergency on Oct. 8 stating “this is a humanitarian crisis that started with violence and instability in South American and is being accelerated by American political dynamics. Thousands of asylum seekers have been bussed into New York City and simply dropped off, without notice, coordination, or care.”
