A luxury hotel in central Manhattan is set to become a hub for housing asylum-seeking migrants flown in by bus from Texas.
The Row, located near tourist-packed Times Square, will become a haven for up to 600 migrant families.
Sources claim they will accommodate families and individuals who have traveled from Texas after Gov. George Abbott revealed his plan to transport people from his southern state.
The upscale hotel is understood to be working with Mayor Adams to convert part of the $400-a-night hotel formerly known as Milford Plaza into a reception center.
A hotel worker told the New York Post, “In a month or two, we’ll be opening up to the city’s homeless services for the homeless.
‘They’re working on an agreement, a contract. It will be here at this hotel but they will keep the DHS property on a specific floor. But it hasn’t started yet, they said, a month or two.’
There was no official announcement from City Hall on how much the 28-story, 1,300-room hotel plan will cost or which department will lead the operation.
The Row, a $400-a-night luxury hotel near tourist-packed Times Square, will become a haven for up to 600 migrant families. It is not clear if a floor is provided or if they are on the other side of the property
At an independent news conference Monday, Mayor Adams said New York would “treat these people with dignity,” which Texas has failed to do
A child gave reporters a thumbs-up today after arriving with his family on a bus from Texas to the Port Authority bus station in New York
Sources claim the plan has been accelerated to try to deal with the tide of asylum seekers heading to the Big Apple after more than 300 arrived in the past two weeks.
The Row struck a deal with the city after last week’s desperate plea from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) for proposals.
The department’s solicitation includes a request for bilingual staff, adding, “The population served by the selected provider consists of families with children, adult couples and single adults.”
City Hall did not immediately respond to a request from for comment.
The hotel is about three blocks from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where Abbott has sent busloads of migrants.
More than 300 asylum seekers have arrived in the Big Apple in the past two weeks, meaning the hotel plan has been sped up because of the surge
When asked by , a spokeswoman for The Row declined to comment.
The hotel is about three blocks from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where Abbott has sent busloads of migrants to protest President Biden’s “irresponsible open borders policy.”
It also hosted homeless people during the peak of the COVID pandemic, who first reported it was being considered as a refuge for migrants.
At an independent news conference Monday, Mayor Adams said, “We will give these families dignity that the governor of Texas has not done. That’s us as New Yorkers, that’s us as an administration.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing undocumented migrants into New York City in a symbolic protest that President Joe Biden is ending a pandemic program that allows border officials to more easily thwart illegal border crossings.
A man gave a thumbs-up as he crossed the street with a charity worker to be taken to an animal shelter after the long journey from Texas on Monday
The Row struck a deal with the city after last week’s desperate plea from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) for proposals. The department’s application includes a request for bilingual staff, as the majority of those arriving do not speak much English
New York considers itself a haven for undocumented migrants and does not cooperate with immigration law enforcement officers on deportation or detention matters.
On Tuesday, Adams called Abbott’s program “irresponsible” for using people for a “political ploy.”
He also threatened to bus New Yorkers into Texas to knock on doors for Abbott’s incoming gubernatorial rival, Beto O’Rourke.
“I’ve already called all my friends in Texas and told them how to vote,” Adams said. “I’m seriously contemplating going to Texas with a busload of New Yorkers and banging on some good old door knockers because for the good of America we gotta get him out of office.”
He previously described Abbott’s program as “terrible.”