As the federal government has kept sitting on its hands in response to asylum seekers’ immense needs, cities including New York have had to continue stepping up to provide basic humanitarian aid.
Most fraught has been housing thousands of people who have little in the way of existing community and social supports and who for months can’t work legally in the country, leading the Adams administration to find creative yet occasionally questionable solutions like massive tent encampments for migrants. The latest facility is at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook, where men staying at the Watson Hotel makeshift shelter were supposed to be transferred this week.
Many of those who went have now left and tried to return to the hotel, citing lack of heat, privacy, security of belongings, and other concerns with the new facility. These are ultimately questions that could be resolved rather straightforwardly by reporters visiting the site and confirming whether or not any of the qualms are legit.
