FLOYD BENNETT FIELD — With the Sept. 14 deadline looming, a last ditch effort to revoke the migrant shelter lease at Floyd Bennett Field took place outside the former federal airfield on Sept. 8.

Led by a caravan of more than 30 vehicles, dozens of New Yorkers rallied in Floyd Bennett, which has been housing thousands of migrants since Gov. Kathy Hochul helped broker a deal with the Biden administration to use the facility in late August last year. 

Organized by the Coalition for Better Communities, this was the latest in a series of demonstrations.

A similar caravan and rally took place this past June. In January, a bipartisan group of elected officials, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, gathered in Floyd Bennett Field in an attempt to urge U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Charles Schumer to pass the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 5283). The act prohibits federal funding from being used to provide housing for migrants on any federal park land and retroactively abolishes the lease agreement at Floyd Bennett Field. 

Passing the buck

“One year later, the migrants are still here,” Jaime Williams, one of the keynote speakers at the Sept. 8 rally, pointed out. “We are simply asking the mayor and the governor not to renew that lease.” 

Williams told the crowd that everything that could be done has been done.

“We testified before congress, had two rallies, and sent a letter and petition last week to the mayor and governor with over 1,000 signatures to revoke the lease,” she said. “It’s more than just the migrant crime aspect here.”

State subsidies and state benefits cannot continue to be given to undocumented illegal migrants, Williams explained.  

“We need to worry about our homeless, our veterans, and our seniors that need assistance.” 

Williams was asked specifically who is responsible for deciding whether or not the migrant shelter lease at Floyd Bennett would ultimately be renewed.

“They keep passing the buck,” she said. “If you speak to the mayor, he says it’s the governor; if you speak to the governor, he says it’s the mayor. It’s like a tale of two worlds. But at the end of the day, we have to put Americans and New Yorkers first.” 

$10 billion next year?

Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angels founder and former New York City mayoral candidate, was the event’s other keynote speaker.

“I told you that this was going to happen — that they were going to put illegal aliens in tents here, and no one believed me,” Sliwa said. “I warned you! 

“Officials are saying there are less migrants coming in,” Sliwa continued. “If that’s the case, then why are they estimating it will cost us $10 billion next year?” 

According to Sliwa, on Jan. 1, 25 new shelters will be opening throughout the five boroughs: 13 hotels and 12 brick and mortar establishments. 

“So how are there less migrants?” he asked.

Sliwa noted that this is more than just a Floyd Bennett Field issue. 

“They are still coming in every day, and they have complete immunity,” he said. “If you arrest an illegal alien, they get cut loose. They are destroying our city.”