CBS New York gets tour of new asylum seeker center at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
NEW YORK -- Despite mass protests, a new humanitarian relief center opened on Tuesday afternoon in Queens.
The mayor's office took CBS New York's Lisa Rozner inside the tents in the parking lot of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.
The pillows are set, mobile bathrooms and showers have been cleaned, and the cafeteria is ready to offer three meals a day.
"Today, we stand here in a parking lot and Randall's, which we've also announced, is going to be on a soccer field. We are at point where need to create new space," said Dr. Ted Long, senior vice president of NYC Health + Hospitals.
Rozner saw the main sleeping tent for the site. Officials said it can hold up to 850 asylum seekers.
There will also be a curfew, which means lights out, but people can come and go 24/7. There will also be cots in a smaller tent. So, in total, up to 1,000 single adult men can stay there.
"We have thousands of singles in DHS system right now. We need to make room for all of the families with children," Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy said.
Watch Lisa Rozner's report
Officials said the site will cost a little less than Randall's Island, which is reportedly $20 million per month.
Rozner asked those in charge, "The mayor said last week he would try to save a dollar on napkins, laundry, meals ... is that kind of savings being applied here and how?"
"If you look around this facility, there's ... it's a lot more. There's lot fewer things that we're doing here than we were doing at Randall's," said Zach Iscol, commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management.
- Read more: Staten Island borough president blasts idea of turning Fort Wadsworth into asylum seeker shelter
He said there is no rec center and that medical services provided by MEDRITE will eventually transition to telehealth.
In addition, vendors taking on more sites is helping drive down the cost.
However, Queens Village residents have been protesting over the last two weeks, fearing the center will also drive away seniors who come to the SNAP center feet away, and kids who play sports across the street.
"There's other places that they can put them that's open area, with nothing around," resident Joe Sinisgalli said. "We don't know their background. We don't know the situation that they're coming from, how they're going to behave."
"We don't know what kind of people sit down with us, coming to parks, sit down here. We're scared," Queens Village resident Hareet Sandhu said.
He said he also worries the one bus stop outside to Jamaica is not enough for asylum seekers to access jobs.
Unarmed security is also going to be at the Creedmoor facility 24/7.
The mayor's office said more transit can be provided if needed, and that no local services have been impacted.
- Related story: Staten Island community leaders, City Council members protest against possible asylum seeker shelter
Sebastian Ferro was one of the first tenants at the new relief center. He came to New York from Colombia a few months ago.
"A better job, a better life for my kids," he said.
Ferro says the shelter is his only option right now, even though he's found some work off the books.
"It's difficult to find apartment because everything, the papers, the credit score, all this and money," he said.
More than 200 emergency sites have already opened in the five boroughs, but with buses still arriving from border states, City Hall says they're out of options.
"It's a question of do you want people sleeping on the street or do you want people sleeping in a cot?" Levy said.
- Related story: White House officials meet with Mayor Eric Adams to collaborate on asylum seeker crisis response
Mayor Eric Adams estimates New York City will spend $12 billion over three years on this crisis, and he continues to call on the Biden administration for a national strategy, including giving asylum seekers the right to work.
"What is more anti-American than not allowing someone to work?" Adams said.
Mike Sobotko owns the Denny's down the block from Creedmoor. He says he would love to hire his new neighbors but has to wait for their work authorization.
"My guess, and it's just a guess, is that Biden is playing politics and doesn't want to seem to be encouraging the migrants by giving them work authorization because he's facing re-election," Sobotko said.
Dino Redzic has 17 openings at his pizza shop under the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown, another shelter for asylum seekers.
His message to those protesting Creedmoor is this: "They don't bring crime. They don't bring nothing bad to the neighborhoods. They are just people in need and all they want is to work."
