New York City universities and colleges should open up their student dorms and apartments to asylum seekers this summer, two of the state’s congressional representatives said Monday as the city continues to struggle to find room for the tens of thousands of migrants who’ve arrived since last year.
In a letter to the heads of CUNY, SUNY, NYU and a coalition of local independent institutions, Democratic New York Reps. Dan Goldman and Jamaal Bowman said the educational systems should have plenty of “available space on your campuses that may be suitable to provide shelter for new arrivals” during the summer break.
“During the summer, many of your institutions have empty dorm rooms, student apartments, and other potentially appropriate places for shelter that can serve as much-needed temporary housing for migrants,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily News. “We also ask for your help as we work with local leaders to provide food assistance and other necessities as well as pro bono legal assistance to migrant families arriving in New York.”
