NYC to open massive migrant shelter in the Bronx, close controversial Hall Street shelter

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Jan 10, 2025

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NEW YORK — The city opening a massive new migrant shelter in the Bronx, the Daily News has learned — a sign that city is still wrestling with the tens of thousands of migrants in the city’s care despite dozens of shelter closures.

The administration is also planning to close 13 additional migrant shelters by June, according to the Mayor’s office, including Clinton Hill’s Hall Street shelter, which has been the subject of much controversy in the area.

“The policies we implemented, and the tremendous work of the dedicated public servants who execute our mission, show how our administration continues to creatively and effectively manage an unprecedented crisis,” Adams said in a statement.

“The additional closures we are announcing today, provides yet another example of our continued progress and the success of our humanitarian efforts to care for everyone throughout our system.”

The new site, located in an industrial section of the Bronx off Bruckner Boulevard, will house 2,200 single men in the seven-story warehouse. It was granted a slew of temporary permits last month to convert the space into a shelter, city records show.

The space will be operated by the city’s Housing Recovery Operations office and is intended to fill the gap left by the closure of the huge tent site at Randall’s Island and others, according to City Hall. It is slated to open in the next couple months.

“We should not be housing people shelters to begin with,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition. “We should be giving them the services that they need to get on their feet and actually get out of shelter and into permanent housing This circling the wagon on creating more and more shelters, is not going to help the people who are directly impacted.”

The new opening comes as the city has entered into a new phase of the migrant crisis as various shelter closures underway around the city have pushed migrants into new shelters.

Last week, single men living at a Bushwick shelter were pushed out and transferring to Randall’s to make way for adult families. At Floyd Bennett Field, families were transferred to shelters across the city, including some to the Hall Street shelter set to be closed, according to Ariana Hellerman, a volunteer with mutual aid group Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors.

Although the city has seen its migrant population in shelters consistently decreasing for months, there are still tens of thousands in the city’s care. As of January 5, over 50,000 migrants remains in the local shelter system, according to City Hall data. The city has opened nearly 200 sites since spring of 2022.

Adams has promised future closures and emphasized that the city initatives such as case management and 30- and 60-day notices have caused the city’s migrant crisis to ease up.

The city has seen a decrease in the migrant population for 27 weeks straight, according to the city. By June, the city plans to close over a dozen more shelters, including the Clinton Hill shelter and the Watson and the Stewart hotel sites, reducing the overall capacity by 100,000 beds, not counting the ones added by the Bruckner site.

Adams has touted decreases in migrant spending as a further sign the worst of the crisis is behind the city — although members of the City Council and the city’s Independent Budget Office have said the administration inflated cost estimates for migrant expenses.

The Bronx building was purchased by developers Maddd Equities and South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, or SoBro, in 2023 city records show. Before the pandemic, the building was converted into an office building.