Randall’s Island migrant facility
File photograph
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Residents and elected officers are talking out on social media in opposition to town’s plan to open an enormous new migrant shelter within the South Bronx whereas closing 13 different websites citywide by June.
The brand new shelter is deliberate for a vacant constructing on Bruckner Boulevard with capability for two,200 single adults, principally transferred from the tent construction at Randall’s Island, which is closing subsequent month, in accordance with metropolis officers. The variety of new migrants throughout New York Metropolis has decreased for every of the previous 27 weeks, and now, with the bottom whole in 18 months, town is “reshuffling” and “reconsolidating,” a spokesperson mentioned.
However the plan to shut 10,000 beds citywide has not included the South Bronx, the place opposition to the brand new shelter is rising.
Council Member Diana Ayala, whose district contains the shelter, instructed the Bronx Occasions that she beneficial the constructing for a possible shelter practically two years in the past, but it remained vacant via the peak of the emergency. Ayala mentioned she was not knowledgeable prematurely concerning the metropolis’s plans to make use of it right now.
Though she expressed concern about housing 1000’s of migrants in a single location, the brand new shelter will probably be solely momentary as extra individuals are exiting the system than coming into, Ayala mentioned.
However Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. mentioned the location is one other instance of town’s constant burdening of the South Bronx with shelters and inexpensive housing.
“Once again, the South Bronx is carrying the weight for homelessness in the city of New York,” he instructed the Bronx Occasions. “It’s a never-ending saga.”
Borough President Vanessa Gibson has not but issued an official assertion on the shelter plan, however in a Jan. 14 publish to her private Instagram account, she referred to as it “completely unacceptable.” She additionally famous that provision must be made to help native residents and households.
Gibson expressed concern concerning the massive measurement of the shelter and its potential impact on the encircling neighborhood, which she mentioned is “already overwhelmed.” She additionally pointed to the potential for Trump administration officers to focus on the location for mass deportation efforts — a priority shared by Ayala.
As media protection of the brand new shelter has elevated, native residents are additionally making their opposition and skepticism identified.
Clarisa Alayeto, chair of Group Board 1, which covers Mott Haven, Port Morris and Melrose, took to social media to say that “once again, decisions are made without consulting residents, businesses, or those directly impacted.”
“We’ve seen and heard a lot of the [safety] issues that have happened near migrant shelters, with migrants,” she mentioned in a video publish. “How are we ensuring this is not going to be the case in the South Bronx?”
The Bronx Occasions reached out to Group Board 2, overlaying Hunts Level, Longwood and Morrisania, and has not but obtained a response. In response to Salamanca Jr., the board wrote a letter of opposition to the shelter.
The fortieth Precinct Group Council additionally opposes the plan, saying on Instagram that it might trigger elevated crime and high quality of life issues and a pressure on native sources.
The council mentioned a gathering is being deliberate (date TBD) to listen to extra neighborhood enter. “With the ongoing spike in crime, coupled with existing challenges such as needle litter, homelessness, mental illness, and vagrancy, we firmly believe that adding this shelter will further strain our already overburdened neighborhood.”
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A significant downside with town’s plan, in accordance with Alayeto, is that it was applied with out searching for residents’ enter.
“There are a lot of questions that our community and our residents have,” she mentioned within the video. “Nobody came to talk to the community.”
