After months of discussions, state and federal government representatives have come to a tentative deal to lodge migrants at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
The city will use the former airfield to open a new Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Response Center, or HERRC, joining two others on the grounds of Randall’s Island in Manhattan and the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens, according to an announcement governor Kathy Hochul made on Monday.
The governor stated that given New York City’s ongoing challenges with an inflow of migrant arrivals, more than 2,000 individuals may end up being sheltered there. When it could open is unknown. “Ultimately the path out of this crisis is granting work authorization immediately, so these individuals can move out of shelter and into independent living arrangements,” Hochul said in a statement.
Mayor Adams expressed his “gratitude” for the provisional agreement but remained silent over the timing of the site’s opening and persisted in requesting more improvements from the federal government to assist the migrants.
Since Floyd Bennett Field is a component of the national park known as the Gateway National Recreation Area, utilizing it as a HERRC needed federal approval. From 1931 to 1971, it was used as an airstrip.
