New York City launches new migrant arrival center at Midtown hotel

Mayor Eric Adams announced on Saturday the launch of New York City's first migrant arrival center.

Adams said the has already taken in more than 65,000 migrants, many of whom are also seeking asylum. With the recent expiration of Title 42, the number of arrivals is anticipated to increase dramatically. The center's launch also comes as lawsuits have stymied the mayor’s efforts to relocate migrants to suburban counties north of the city.

“With the opening of yet another humanitarian relief center, we continue to ask for our federal and state partners for a real decompression strategy and hope to open and operate temporary shelters across the state and nation, as New York City has reached its capacity,” said Adams in a press release.

The arrival center would operate from the shuttered Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown, which permanently closed its doors in 2020 due to pandemic-related financial losses. In a statement, Rich Maroko, president of the New York Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, said the city had negotiated a settlement with the hotel that restored union workers’ jobs and compensated workers who had lost their jobs during the pandemic.

The center would initially feature 175 rooms for children and families, as well as an additional 100 to 150 rooms for migrants in transition to other locations, before it is eventually scaled up to about 850 rooms, the city said.

The migrant arrival center would also be the city’s ninth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center, or HERRC. It would serve as an intake center for migrants arriving in the city and would provide them with legal, medical and reconnection services, along with placement in a shelter if needed, according to the city. In the coming weeks, the city also plans to offer enrollment for other services at the center, including schools, health insurance, and Fair Fares and IDNYC.

The city said the center would begin operations later this week, but did not specify a particular date.