New York City sees another surge in asylum seekers ahead of right-to-shelter court battle
NEW YORK -- With New York City and New York state headed for a high-stakes court battle Wednesday over the right to shelter, the city is seeing a new surge in asylum seekers, putting even more stress on an already overtaxed system.
As CBS New York political reporter Marcia Kramer reports, it's not only a battle over the right to shelter but the acute need for more space. The city's recently opened mega-shelters are filling up fast, and there's now the disclosure that the deal to open a new tent city at Floyd Bennett Field has a number of major hurdles.
"There are certain areas of Floyd Bennett Field that are not ideal, that may be in a flood plain," said Camille Joseph Varlack, Mayor Eric Adams' chief of staff.
It was a frank admission as she and Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol spoke about their frantic hunt for more space to cope with the latest surge in asylum seekers.
The city averaged 600 new arrivals each day last week. The week before it was between 300 and 400 each day.
"Creedmoor is currently close to capacity. By the end of the day, we expect to have 900 asylum seekers and migrants at the Creedmoor facility that has a capacity of roughly about 1,000," Iscol said.
Creedmoor opened nearly a week ago, and the Randall's Island shelter, which opened Monday, already has 350 people.
That is why the White House's promise to Gov. Kathy Hochul that the state can use Floyd Bennett Field is so important.
But with hurricane season and knowing what it was like to have to remove a shelter in an Orchard Beach parking lot last year because of flooding, the city is right to be careful.
Then again, they're desperate.
"We will make, as we have throughout this entire crisis, almost anything work," Varlack said.
"The fact is there's no ideal place to be doing this. We now have over 200 emergency sites across the city. Every single one of them has major issues that need to be addressed and mitigated," Iscol said.
With the mayor in Israel, it will be left to his corporation counsel to handle the court battle over the city's obligation to shelter everyone who seeks it.
He got some support from the City Council's bipartisan Common Sense Caucus, which sent a letter to the judge asking that she allow the city some leeway when it "lacks the resources and capacity to establish and maintain sufficient shelter sites."
Meanwhile, the mayor stepped up pressure on the White House to let the asylum seekers work. He pointed to Israel's success in dealing with an influx of refugees from Ethiopia.
"I believe that that should be a symbol to our country, and I'm hoping the White House does see the importance of allowing people the right to work," Adams said.
- Read more: St. John Villa Academy to be used as shelter for asylum seekers on Staten Island, sources say
In court Wednesday, the city is expected to demand more help from both the state and federal governments. The mayor wants the governor to do more to get other localities throughout the state to welcome asylum seekers.
New polls show the issue is hurting the popularity of both the state's top Democrats.
