NYC mayor moves migrant tent shelter over flooding concerns
Bronx, New York, facility will be relocated to Randall's Island
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday night that a facility using giant tents to temporarily house hundreds of migrants being sent to the Big Apple will be relocated closer to Manhattan.
Weekend storms in New York raised concerns over flooding at the original site in Orchard Beach, which is in the Bronx on the Long Island Sound.
Images showed water pounding the area following weekend rainfall, and immigration advocates had criticized the location, citing its inaccessibility.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The complex will now be on Randall's Island, which sits between Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.
"Following this weekend's storms, New York City Emergency Management determined that, while we would be able to put in place the necessary ponding mitigation measures, relocating the Orchard Beach humanitarian relief center to Randall's Island is the most efficient and effective path forward, and work is underway to make this move," Adams said. "This new location is less prone to flooding, is closer to public transportation and will provide temporary respite to 500 asylum seekers."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adams said New York has "safely and efficiently provided shelter, health care, education and a host of other services" to more than 16,000 asylum seekers over the last few months.
Large tents are constructed in a parking lot at Orchard Beach in the Bronx on Sept. 27, 2022, in New York City. The temporary tents will be used to house some estimated 13,000 migrants who have been bussed into the city from Texas since August. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The mayor said the new site would open in "approximately the same timeframe" as the original location, and his office continues to "build out [its] options and explore additional sites as [it handles] this humanitarian crisis created by human hands."
Workers install tents to handle an influx of asylum-seekers, in a parking area of Orchard Beach, in the Bronx, New York on Sept. 29, 2022. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
In recent months, New York has seen an increase in migrants arriving in the city, sent on buses from border states including Texas and Arizona.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}5 MIGRANT BUSES ARRIVE IN NYC AS MAYOR ADAMS' TENT CITY CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
The influx has put a strain on the city’s shelter system, leading officials to propose temporary tent facilities.
Migrants leave for a shelter from the Port Authority bus terminal in New York Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images)
According to Fox 5 New York, Adams is close to striking a deal on housing migrants on cruise ships.
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The outlet also said that a group of people who lived in neighborhoods near Orchard Beach had announced their intentions to file a lawsuit and a temporary restraining order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.