Eric Adams To Open Two More 'Emergency Migrant Shelters,' As NYC Is Pushed To Its Limit

The shelters will house up to 1,200 single men and one will be located in the vacant Candler Tower office building in Times Square, which used to be one of the most profitable 24-hour McDonald’s restaurants in the country. The second location is a six-story commercial building at 455 Jefferson St in Brooklyn. Of the 103 emergency shelters already in use, only one is in hotels across the five boroughs. The city has estimated to spend $4.2 billion on the migrant crisis by mid-next year.

The announcement comes as the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office faces a backlog of processing migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. The office is fully booked through October 2032, as the Post revealed, the lengthiest backlog of any ICE office in the U.S., which raises concerns that migrants without valid asylum claims could choose New York City to avoid facing an immigration judge for as long as possible.

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March 14, 2023

City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) has criticized Adams’ solution, stating, “We’re now going to house them in retail spaces, commercial spaces. Where does it end, and when does the taxpayer get a break here? This is a problem that the Biden administration created, and the government should foot the bill and have a plan to feed and house them.”

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Some residents are also concerned about the impact the shelters will have on the city’s tourist industry. Syed Hossain, an Indian immigrant who works at a newsstand near the Candler Tower, stated, “If there are protests or crime, people visiting from other countries won’t keep coming back to New York…If the immigrants behave and are nice, it will not be a problem…If they are given jobs, it will not be a problem. When they’re given everything and have nothing to do, that’s when you get problems.”

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Mayor Adams acknowledges the challenges posed by the growing number of asylum seekers, stating that more than 51,000 migrants have arrived since the spring, and more than 31,000 are being cared for by the city. He is calling for support from both state and federal governments.