MARINE PARK – 25 MIGRANT SHELTERS across the state will shutter by March of next year, Mayor Adams said at a Tuesday morning press conference, reports The City, following a dropoff in new arrivals to the city that began several months ago. The list includes the controversial large family camp at Floyd Bennett Field, which is slated for closure by Jan. 15.; residents will be moved elsewhere. Officials have expressed concerns that the incoming Trump administration could cancel the city’s lease on the field, which is administered by the National Parks Service.
The Legal Aid Society wrote in a statement, “Floyd Bennett Field – a semi-congregate facility where families with children live in tents on an unused airfield mired in a flood zone, miles from schools, and other services – was always the wrong location to shelter vulnerable families with young children. While we welcome this closure, one which we have long advocated for because this site was never an appropriate setting for families with children and raised concerns about families’ safety, we are mindful of the disruption it causes to the families we serve, who above all else are longing for stability.” The group also pledged to monitor any deportation actions taken by President-elect Trump.
Advocates on both sides of the immigration debate have previously joined in calls for the field’s closure, with supporters saying conditions in the tents are inhumane and unsafe for the families housed there and opponents saying the camp’s presence has attracted crime and panhandling. “We have been in solidarity with the residents of Floyd Bennett Field for a year, advocating for better living conditions with them. We are thrilled to hear this news,” Ariana Hellerman of volunteer group Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors told The City.
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