The sharp decline in the flow of migrants led New York City to close seven more emergency shelters in recent days — bringing the total to 11 over the past month, The Washington Post has learned.
That means taking 1,800 rooms out of the emergency shelter system, though there is still a staggering 56,600 migrants still in city care, according to city data.
More than 400 new migrants entered the city's shelter system from November 18 to 24, but more than 1,200 migrants left — a decrease of 800 migrants in just one week.
These numbers contrast sharply with the situation in January, when nearly 4,000 new migrants were arriving in the city weekly.
“Thanks to our successful management and nation-leading programs that help immigrants transition out of city care, we will have removed nearly 1,800 rooms or beds from the city’s emergency migrant shelter system by the end of November,” a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said. .
“This is a testament to the hard work of our staff and many partners to ensure that thousands of migrants are prevented from sleeping on our streets every night, and the city has helped more than 167,000 migrants move on to the next stage of their lives.” a trip.”
City officials said a decline in the number of arrivals and an increase in the number of departures from the shelter system has been the trend for more than a month, and if the rate continues this way, more shelters will be closed in the coming weeks.
A downtown hotel that stopped operating as emergency shelter for migrant families last week is already booked out when it reopens to tourists again later this week.
The Americana Hotel downtown said it will reopen as a tourist hotel on Dec. 5, and is already booked as the Christmas holiday season approaches.
“We're already sold out,” a front desk worker told The Post Sunday.
State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Cassar said the migrant crisis took hotel rooms off the market and may have discouraged tourists from coming to New York because of high prices.
“It's not just what it costs taxpayers to house people. You have to look at the opportunity cost — people who don't come to New York because they feel it's unsafe for tourists,” Cassar said.
The Adams administration has faced backlash as it grapples with a migrant crisis since the spring of 2022, with local residents unhappy with the location of some shelters. Immigration advocates, meanwhile, took aim after Adams imposed time limits on asylum seekers' stays.
The city and the White House have been at odds over the crisis after Hizzoner criticized the president for failing to adequately address the border.
The city last month stopped sending migrants to four other emergency shelters, and Adams committed to closing all 10 of the city's migrant shelters upstate in Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Orange and Westchester counties this month.
The city also plans to close the massive migrant camp on Randall's Island in February after dramatically reducing the number of migrants housed there.
It was not clear why closures were not prioritized for shelters in the city center – a tourist hotspot ahead of the holiday season, with only two of 11 hotels closing recently in the high-traffic area.
A management source said the closures depend on a number of factors, including the lease terms with each hotel. There are still at least five hotels downtown serving immigrants.
The number of hotels and facilities needed for migrant shelters in cities could decline further early next year when President-elect Donald Trump takes office with his hand-picked border czar Tom Homan, who is promoting an aggressive crackdown on border crossings and ramping up deportations of illegal immigrants.
However, the Adams administration said it plans to continue using the hotels as emergency shelters for the foreseeable future.
New York City indicated that it seeks to provide 14,000 hotel rooms to accommodate migrants until 2025, as housing costs for asylum seekers over the past three years are expected to exceed $2.3 billion.
More than 100 hotels currently still house migrants, and total spending on migrant services in New York will reach $6.1 billion, according to city data.
As of November 24, the city has more than 115,300 people in the shelter system, including more than 56,600 migrants.
More than 224,400 migrants have passed through the city's reception system since spring 2022.
The shelters that have been closed over the past week are:
- JFK Respite Center. 197 North Boundary Road, Jamaica. 827 beds. Used for single adult immigrant men since June 2023
- The essence of JFK. 97-01 Waltham Street, Jamaica. 71 rooms. Used for migrant families since July 2023
- Trip hotel. 37-10 11th Street, Long Island City. 51 rooms. It has been used as a shelter for migrant families with children since July 2023
- Sleep Inn 687 Third Ave, Brooklyn. 50 rooms. It has been used as a shelter for migrant families with children since July 2023
- Americana Inn. 69 West 38th Street, Manhattan. 46 rooms. It has been used as a shelter for migrant families with children since July 2023
- RL Hotel. 1080 Broadway, Brooklyn. 65 rooms. It has been used as a shelter for migrant families with children since May 2023
- Imperial Hotel. 2550 East New York Street, Brooklyn. 59 rooms. It has been used as a shelter for migrant families with children since May 2023
