The office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is considering a plan that would place an encampment for migrants in Central Park. The prospective plan comes as the Big Apple struggles to handle a large influx of illegal immigrants.
The mayor’s office is currently considering 3,000 locations to set up tent camps for the migrants to stay, including New York’s iconic Central Park. The city’s government is also considering housing the migrants in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park or closing children’s soccer fields on Randall’s Island to make room for the immigrants.
Separately, the city is relocating a number of migrants into McCarren Park in Brooklyn.
Adams has previously stated that the city has “no more room” to handle the influx of almost 100,000 migrants since 2022.
New York is calling for illegal immigrants to not travel to Gotham. Adams’ office distributed fliers stating that New York should not be a destination for several reasons, including that there would be “no guarantee we will be able to provide shelter and services to new arrival” and that the city is particularly expensive.
Dozens of migrants from countries such as Venezuela, Mali, and Senegal packed onto a New York City sidewalk outside the Roosevelt Hotel as it ran out of room to house new arrivals https://t.co/P2L2SnQ9zb pic.twitter.com/jJ7Iipd0YH
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 2, 2023
Adams’ recent moves came despite the fact that New York declared itself a sanctuary city for illegal aliens.
Furthermore, the mayor had previously criticized efforts by mostly Republican-led states such as Texas and Florida to send migrants to other locations, including sanctuary states and cities.
Adams said that Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) was “once again deciding to play politics with people’s lives.” He also called Abbott’s actions “morally bankrupt and devoid of any concern for the well-being of asylum seekers.”
Shortly after Adams’ May comments, the city announced plans to bus migrants to other counties within New York State.
The effort would send several hundred illegal aliens to Long Island and upstate regions. Furthermore, the effort would bypass locations that declared themselves sanctuary counties.
A city spokesperson said at the time that New York needed “other elected officials around the state and country to do their part and emulate the humane and compassionate approach New York City has taken over the past year.”
