Migrant shelter for 2,000 men to be built starting as early as Monday on NYC’s Randall’s Island soccer fieldsBy Bernadette Hogan and Isabel Keane
August 7, 2023
Officials have confirmed a migrant shelter will be built for 2,000 men on Randall’s Island’s kiddie soccer fields, with construction starting as early as Monday.
The influx of migrants to New York City — including hundreds arriving daily — is “stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
“It has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night,” he said.
Hizzoner said the state would be “covering the costs” of the shelter’s construction, maintenance and staffing, although officials have yet to say how much that will be.
The city last built a shelter for migrants on the island off Manhattan in October — spending at least $625,000 — only to shut it down within a matter of weeks because of reported lack of use, given its relatively isolated location.
A Randall’s Island source said the city informed local officials Monday morning that it was erecting the massive makeshift shelter on athletic Fields 82, 83, 84 and 85 — with “construction slated to begin as early as today.”
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/08/07/its-official-migrant-shelter-for-2000-men-to-be-built-starting-as-early-as-monday-on-randalls-island-soccer-fields/