New York City adds 20 more shelters to migrant curfew
NEW YORK -- The city says beginning Monday, 20 additional migrant shelters will have a curfew.
CBS New York spoke with Mayor Eric Adams and advocates on Sunday.
The city says migrants at the additional shelters will have a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. The announcement came after police said a group of men assaulted two officers outside a migrant shelter in Times Square. And just days later, police say a 15-year-old migrant shot a woman inside JD Sports in Times Square and then allegedly fired at officers who were chasing him.
"Unfortunately, the incident that happened in Times Square. It's not the norm," said Hildalyn Colon-Hernandez, deputy director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, or NICE.
Watch Kristie Keleshian's report
Colon-Hernandez agrees with the expanded curfew for the safety of migrants. The city said in a statement it is "prioritizing the health and safety" of asylum seekers and surrounding New Yorkers, and that it "will allow for more efficient capacity management for migrants in the city's care."
Mayor Adams spoke about the curfew at an unrelated event on Sunday.
"Anything that could keep us safe, that's the goal. Public safety," Adams said.
READ MORE: 15-year-old Times Square shooting suspect charged with attempted murder as adult
The mayor also emphasized the need for structure, organization, and federal help with the asylum seeker crisis.
"The real issue is the national government should solve the problem. It's not a city problem. It's a national government problem," Adams said.
READ MORE: New York City implementing curfew at 4 asylum seeker shelters in response to community complaints
The curfew initially went into effect at four shelters in mid January, but has since expanded to 20 more shelters, mostly in Manhattan. Colon-Hernandez's organization provides workforce development training to hundreds of asylum seekers a month. She said they have been compliant with the current curfew.
"There's hundreds of hardworking people that they're doing everything, the right thing to contribute to the city. So I hope that people doesn't get guided by circumstances," Colon-Hernandez said.
The expanded curfew impacts more than 3,600 more migrants across city shelters.
