Enraged New York City inhabitants expressed their frustration on Monday upon discovering that they were without the ability to prevent a large 2,200-bed shelter exclusively for males from being established in their vicinity, sparking worries that the presence of the new facility could decrease the safety of the neighborhood, especially for women.
Passionate residents aired their anger during a fiery Bronx community board gathering, during which they were informed by the mayor’s office that the government-funded large-scale shelter is set to be operational next month at a former warehouse spanning 275,000 square feet, as reported by Fox 5.
The structure is being renovated at a cost ranging from $250,000 to $340,000 to accommodate the migrants, with a significant number being relocated from the extensive migrant tent shelter on Randalls Island, as outlined in the New York Post, referencing municipal documents.
Furious Bronx residents expressed their anger Monday after learning they were powerless to stop a massive 2,200 male-only migrant shelter from opening in their neighborhood. (Fox 5 NY)
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, a Democrat, said she wanted the site repurposed into a manufacturing facility to create more than 2,000 jobs.
She blasted the city for greenlighting the project before the community could discuss it.
Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams approved the new facility. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“The city hall administration owes us more than this meeting tonight and, as your borough president, I am firm in my opposition because this plan is misguided in the climate that we are working with today with a new administration in the White House. It is unacceptable that we would even consider moving forward in such a fashion,” Gibson said. “People often say, ‘If you build it, we will fill it,’ so don’t tell me that the population of single adult men in the migrant system is going down, and yet we are repurposing a building for 2,200.”
Diana Ayala, a Democratic councilwoman who represents parts of the Bronx and Manhattan, including where the shelter is set to open, said she recommended the new Bruckner Boulevard site, as well as other locations in the Bronx.
She said the migrants have a right to shelter and the city is legally obligated to house the migrants.
The Randalls Island shelter is closing, with migrants being transferred to the new Bronx shelter. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“They can’t leave them out on the street, they can’t let them sleep on the street, unless they want to. They have to put them somewhere,” said Ayala, who praised the Adams administration’s handling of the crisis.
Meanwhile, Camille Joseph Varlack, the city’s deputy mayor of administration, said communication could have been better throughout the process.
“Clearly, communication could have been better before this shelter was sited, and we want to make sure that we work in partnership with you as we move forward,” Varlack said.
