NYC to close 25 migrant shelters, including Floyd Bennett Field, Mayor Eric Adams says
Tents at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn have housed as many as 2,000 people, including children. Credit: Jeff Bachner
New York City plans to close the migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn because the number of immigrants seeking asylum in the city has declined for the past 22 weeks, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday.
Floyd Bennett Field is one of 25 city shelters set to close in the next two months. Adams said the Biden administration’s executive order to reduce border crossings drastically lowered the number of immigrants seeking asylum in New York City.
The temporary shelter and tent city opened in August 2023 on the former federal military air base, when the city was receiving about 4,000 migrants daily, including those bused from border states like Texas.
The Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center at Floyd Bennett Field was opened to accommodate up to 2,000 adults and children. Residents at the shelter were allowed to stay for up to 60 days, the same as shelters at converted New York City hotels.
"Our intensive case management, paired with 30- and 60-day policies, have helped more than 170,000 migrants take their next steps on their journeys, because migrants don’t come here to live in our shelter system — they come here to pursue the American Dream," Adams said in a statement. "We’re going to continue looking for more sites to consolidate and close, and more opportunities to save taxpayer money, as we continue to successfully manage this response."
Floyd Bennett Field is scheduled to close by Jan. 15, five days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Trump has vowed mass deportations of people living in the U.S. illegally, initially rounding up immigrants with criminal histories, he has said.
Adams also has sought to rescind New York City’s sanctuary city laws, which prevent city officials from telling federal authorities when an immigrant has been accused of a crime.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) was among the more than 30 plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit last year seeking to block Bennett Field from being used as a shelter. She also introduced a bill to prohibit federal funding to host shelters on federal land. The bill passed the House of Representatives but died in a U.S. Senate committee.
"As I've said from the beginning, turning our federal parks into encampments for unvetted migrants from all over the world is unfair to the surrounding community and taxpayers who have been forced to foot the bill for this madness to the tune of $12 billion," Malliotakis said in a statement. "It is my hope that the City will continue to close the remaining shelters down and work with the Trump Administration to reverse the failed immigration and sanctuary policies that are putting our public safety at risk."
The Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid said in a statement Tuesday that they were preparing for Trump’s mass-deportation plans. The organization is working with newly arrived migrants, helping them find shelter and protect them from any potential federal immigration sweeps, the coalition said.
"Floyd Bennett Field — a semi-congregate facility where families with children live in tents on an unused airfield mired in a flood zone, miles from schools, and other services — was always the wrong location to shelter vulnerable families with young children," the statement said.
"While we welcome this closure, one which we have long advocated for because this site was never an appropriate setting for families with children and raised concerns about families’ safety, we are mindful of the disruption it causes to the families we serve, who above all else are longing for stability," the statement continued. "We also want to ensure that children’s learning continues, their access to the classroom is not impeded, and households can still reach employment opportunities, health care, and critical services."
New York City plans to close the migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn because the number of immigrants seeking asylum in the city has declined for the past 22 weeks, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday.
Floyd Bennett Field is one of 25 city shelters set to close in the next two months. Adams said the Biden administration’s executive order to reduce border crossings drastically lowered the number of immigrants seeking asylum in New York City.
The temporary shelter and tent city opened in August 2023 on the former federal military air base, when the city was receiving about 4,000 migrants daily, including those bused from border states like Texas.
The Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center at Floyd Bennett Field was opened to accommodate up to 2,000 adults and children. Residents at the shelter were allowed to stay for up to 60 days, the same as shelters at converted New York City hotels.
"Our intensive case management, paired with 30- and 60-day policies, have helped more than 170,000 migrants take their next steps on their journeys, because migrants don’t come here to live in our shelter system — they come here to pursue the American Dream," Adams said in a statement. "We’re going to continue looking for more sites to consolidate and close, and more opportunities to save taxpayer money, as we continue to successfully manage this response."
Floyd Bennett Field is scheduled to close by Jan. 15, five days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Trump has vowed mass deportations of people living in the U.S. illegally, initially rounding up immigrants with criminal histories, he has said.
Adams also has sought to rescind New York City’s sanctuary city laws, which prevent city officials from telling federal authorities when an immigrant has been accused of a crime.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) was among the more than 30 plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit last year seeking to block Bennett Field from being used as a shelter. She also introduced a bill to prohibit federal funding to host shelters on federal land. The bill passed the House of Representatives but died in a U.S. Senate committee.
"As I've said from the beginning, turning our federal parks into encampments for unvetted migrants from all over the world is unfair to the surrounding community and taxpayers who have been forced to foot the bill for this madness to the tune of $12 billion," Malliotakis said in a statement. "It is my hope that the City will continue to close the remaining shelters down and work with the Trump Administration to reverse the failed immigration and sanctuary policies that are putting our public safety at risk."
The Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid said in a statement Tuesday that they were preparing for Trump’s mass-deportation plans. The organization is working with newly arrived migrants, helping them find shelter and protect them from any potential federal immigration sweeps, the coalition said.
"Floyd Bennett Field — a semi-congregate facility where families with children live in tents on an unused airfield mired in a flood zone, miles from schools, and other services — was always the wrong location to shelter vulnerable families with young children," the statement said.
"While we welcome this closure, one which we have long advocated for because this site was never an appropriate setting for families with children and raised concerns about families’ safety, we are mindful of the disruption it causes to the families we serve, who above all else are longing for stability," the statement continued. "We also want to ensure that children’s learning continues, their access to the classroom is not impeded, and households can still reach employment opportunities, health care, and critical services."
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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