Drone footage shows the sheer scale of a massive “tent city” being built in New York City to handle the massive influx of migrants.
On Wednesday, work was in full swing on a shelter about two football fields long that will house up to 2,000 migrants. There were foundations on the site that indicated several more of the massive structures would be built.
The massive facility is under construction on Randall’s Island as Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is forced to take increasingly radical measures to accommodate tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in the city in recent months.
Adams said the site, staff and maintenance costs will all be paid for from state funds after reaching an agreement with Gov. Kathy Hochul to fund the facility.
The mayor recently said New York’s refugee crisis is costing the city nearly $10 million a day.
On Wednesday, work was in full swing on an emergency shelter on Randall’s Island, about two football fields long, that will house up to 2,000 migrants
The massive facility is under construction as Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is forced to take increasingly radical measures to deal with tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in the city in recent months
This is the second time Randall’s Island, located directly across Manhattan’s Upper East Side on the East River, will be used for an immigration facility
Around 50 construction workers on Randall’s Island on Wednesday erected scaffolding for one of the giant white tents that will house the site on Randall’s Island. Roof panels were also attached to the structure.
Work is believed to have started earlier this week after reports on Friday that the city had earmarked the site for the facility. There were foundations for at least two other tents.
This is the second time Randall’s Island, located directly across Manhattan’s Upper East Side on the East River, will be used for an immigration facility. A temporary site was set up on the island for about a month late last year.
A fleet of heavy machinery was also on site at the construction project on Wednesday to transport the vast quantities of construction materials needed for the facility.
Several men in reflective vests and hard hats stood guard at a security checkpoint at the site’s entrance, occasionally opening the steel barriers to allow supplies and other vehicles onto the site. None of the men wanted to talk about the project’s schedule, and the workers on the site remained taciturn.
The facility spans the entire length of two AstroTurf football fields and it is believed that a total of four fields will be the site for the facility
Around 50 construction workers built a frame on Randall’s Island for one of the giant white tents that will house the Randall’s Island site
Work is believed to have started earlier this week after reports on Friday that the city had earmarked the site for the plant
But the 2,000 migrants who can be housed on Randall’s Island are just a fraction of the roughly 60,000 who are in the city’s care
The facility spans the entire length of two AstroTurf football fields and it is believed that a total of four fields will be the site for the facility.
“As the number of asylum seekers in our care increases by the hundreds each day, straining our system to and beyond its limits, finding enough beds each night has become increasingly of a Herculean task,” Adams said.
But the 2,000 migrants who can be housed on Randall’s Island are just a fraction of the roughly 60,000 who are in the city’s care.
Workers must also provide the extensive infrastructure needed to house thousands of people, including running water, showers and toilets.
The influx into New York City continued this week as at least six busloads of migrants were taken to the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday night.
A large migrant family arrived at the Roosevelt Hotel with their luggage on Wednesday
In recent months, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bused nearly 10,000 migrants into the Big Apple
More than 57,000 migrants are already sleeping in city shelters and shelters
The 1,000-room hotel was closed during the Corona crisis and is now being used by the city to house asylum seekers.
The hotel served as a processing center and last week became the epicenter of the country’s refugee crisis. Hundreds of asylum seekers lined the sidewalks in front of the facility in the summer heat as the hotel reached capacity.
More than 57,000 migrants are already sleeping in city shelters and shelters, and more were seen boarding buses into the city on Wednesday.
In recent months, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bused nearly 10,000 migrants into the Big Apple.
Adams held a briefing Wednesday asking federal officials for more assistance and money to help New York City deal with the crisis.
“We are facing an unprecedented state of emergency,” Adams said. “The immigration system in this country is broken, it’s been broken for decades.”
“Today, New York City has to pick up the pieces.”
City officials previously estimated that the city would spend about $4.3 billion on housing, food and services for migrant families by the end of fiscal 2024 in July.
Since then, however, the number of migrants coming into the city has skyrocketed, and the city government spends an average of $9.8 million a day — or more than $300 million a month.
By July 2024, the city is now expected to spend up to $6.1 billion.
“New Yorkers’ compassion may know no bounds, but our resources do not,” Adams said Wednesday. “And our partners at state and federal level know that.”