Queens BP Donovan Richards wants Nassau Coliseum to be used as a migrant shelterBy Carl Campanile
August 16, 2023
New York City officials want large venues outside the Big Apple — such as the vacant Nassau Coliseum in nearby Long Island — to be considered for emergency shelters as the city grapples with the tens of thousands of migrants flooding into the city.
Nearly 200 migrant shelters have been set up across all five boroughs, including two mass “tent cities” – one on the sprawling grounds of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens which will house 1,000 single-adult migrants and the other on Randall’s Island with 2,000 beds in Manhattan.
“NYC is doing more than its fair share. Unused or underutilized assets — certainly the Nassau Coliseum — should be looked at by the state,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.
The original home of the New York Islanders starting in 1972, the Coliseum now sits empty after the NHL team moved to the new UBS arena in Belmont Park in 2021.
“The Nassau Coliseum should be considered as a migrant facility. The coliseum is not next to any houses. It’s not next to anything,” said Hazel Dukes, president of the state chapter of the NAACP and ally of Mayor Eric Adams.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/08/16/queens-bp-donovan-richards-wants-nassau-coliseum-to-be-used-as-a-migrant-shelter/
