New York City will be closing one of the largest and most problematic shelters in the city come February due to the steady drop in migrant arrivals, embattled Mayor Eric Adams has announced.
City officials noted that the decision came after asylum seekers in city shelters decreased for 14 consecutive weeks and is now at its lowest point in over a year, giving the city flexibility to close the shelter by early next year.
"We're not out of the woods yet, but make no mistake, thanks in large part to our smart management strategies and successful advocacy, we have turned the corner on this crisis," said Adams in a statement.
"We're not scrambling every day to open new shelters— we're talking about closing them. We're not talking about how much we're spending— we're talking about how much we've saved. And thanks to today's announcement, in a few months, we'll be talking about how much we're investing in restoring Randall's Island's incredible fields and parks for community use," he continued.
The Randall's Island shelter is part of a citywide network of shelters housing more than 60,000 migrants. More than 210,000 migrants, mostly asylum-seekers, have arrived in the city since spring 2022, though most have since left the system, Gothamist reports.
Additionally, the city's Asylum Application Help Center, the first of its kind in the U.S., has helped complete more than 72,000 applications for work authorization, temporary protected status, and asylum.
Officials will have to prepare to move many of the 2,250 adult migrants on Randall's Island to other city shelters and to be ready to accommodate more people if crossings at the southern border increase once again in the future, according to The New York Times.
The large dormitory-style complex was built atop recreational fields on Randall's Island, an isolated strip of land in the East River between Queens and Manhattan. Since its opening, it has been at the center of different controversies.
When it was first built, the Randall's Island Park Alliance, a nonprofit organization that helps maintain the island, threatened to sue the city, arguing that it was an illegal takeover of public parkland.
"The administration heard our concerns, and we appreciate them working with us on this issue," Deborah Maher, the president of the alliance, said in a statement on Wednesday. "We look forward to working with NYC Parks to restore this important resource, and welcoming back thousands of children from across the city to their newly restored sports fields as soon as possible."
The shelter has also been home to increased reports of crime, litter and the seizure of unregistered mopeds and scooters. According to NYPD data in September, major crimes on Randall's Island, including felony assaults and robberies, grew from 44 to 102 over the previous 12 months.
Murad Awawdeh, the president of the New York Immigration Coalition, called the closure announcement "welcome news."
"We encourage the City to close other inhumane HERRCs (especially Floyd Bennett Field, which subjugates families to unsafe conditions), and to ensure that anyone who needs it has access to safe and dignified shelter," Awawdeh said in a statement.
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