Mayor Eric Adams made it official on Friday: Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn will be used to shelter asylum seekers.
According to city officials, the location will hold up to 2,000 migrants.
The mayor said the city has entered a lease agreement with the federal government to use the air field, and that the state will reimburse the city for use of the site.
Adams released the following statement:
“New York City has entered into a lease agreement with the federal government that allows us to use Floyd Bennett field as an emergency site to shelter some of the more than 113,300 asylum seekers who have sought our care since the spring of 2022. I want to thank Governor Hochul for her commitment to reimbursing New York City fully for the use of this site, and I’m looking forward to further partnerships with our friends in Albany as we manage this ongoing crisis.
“But let’s be clear: If the federal government were to issue an emergency declaration, additional federal space and funding would become available to better manage this crisis. Further, as I have said before, because we haven’t seen meaningful policy changes that would alter the course of this crisis, we’ve been forced to unsustainably open new site after new site as asylum seekers continue to arrive by the thousands. This is not an adequate solution or any sort of long-term plan by the federal government to this national problem.
“We will continue to advocate for expedited work authorizations for asylum seekers, a federal declaration of emergency, more federal funds, and a national and state decompression strategy. We are hopeful that today’s announcement is an example of the state and federal governments’ commitment to leading on this national humanitarian crisis.”
The site has been at the center of a recent protest movement led by former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, as part of a larger anger over the migrant crisis.
