A tent shelter on city parkland — Randall's Island — got the official word Wednesday that it will be closing down in four months.
“We are going to be able to close that site by the end of February,” said Anne William’s-Isom, New York City’s deputy mayor who oversees the humanitarian response.
She cited 14 consecutive weeks of declining arrivals of asylum seekers. The surge of arrivals peaked last year at 4,000 per week. Last week, only 700 migrants arrived in New York.
“We are out of the crisis phase of this,” said Williams-Isom. “We are not out of the woods, but we do think we are in a much better place than we were in the spring of 2022.”
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The overall migrant population in city shelters has decreased from more than 69,000 in January to 60,000 now. City officials credit the Biden administration, adding executive orders to reduce the inflow at the southern border. Earlier in the crisis, the city — and the mayor — were vocal about not getting the necessary support from federal partners.
With the Randall’s Island shelter slated to close by the end of February, 14 other city intake sites will remain open. But officials are hoping to winnow that list as well, with Brooklyn’s Hall Street shelter potentially next to close, says, Camille Joseph Varlack, the mayor's chief of staff.
On the subject of the Randall's Island center closing down, the asylum seeker population peaked at more than 3,000. But it’s now down to 2,250. The city plans to gradually transfer the remaining months ahead.
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“This to me is such a massive manifestation of the progress we’ve made over the past two and a half years that we are going to be able to take down a very visible sign of this humanitarian response," Varlack added.
When the shelter on Randall’s Island closes, the city then will get to work restoring the park that many in the community have missed for 14 months.
"It’s always difficult when you drive onto the island and you see these massive tents and know that you’ve got thousands of souls in our care who are living in the middle of a park. It’s not good for them, it’s not good for anyone," said Varlack.
Advocates for asylum seekers have long called for the closure of the Randall’s Island shelter. They will also intensify pressure on the city to help migrants get jobs and find homes.
"They can’t use it as an excuse anymore that they are overwhelmed. The numbers are down so where is this case management that you say exists?" said advocate Power Malu, noting that the challenge remains the same: To care for tens of thousands of people from other countries without a place to call home.
