NYC evacuating up to 500 migrant families from Floyd Bennett Field shelter as storm intensifies

City officials were hurrying Tuesday to evacuate a massive tent shelter for migrant families at Floyd Bennett Field in southern Brooklyn ahead of a storm forecast to deliver heavy wind and rain overnight and into Wednesday, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.

The site has capacity to house up to 2,000 people, or roughly 500 families, and opened last November as hundreds of migrants continued to arrive in New York City daily. Consisting of four large-scale tents at the former federal airfield, the facility is vulnerable to coastal flooding from nearby Jamaica Bay and features bathrooms outside the tents. In December, migrants staying there described a terrifying night during a powerful storm that shook the tents loudly for hours, caused rain to seep in through the ceilings, and kept adults and children from sleeping.

The city’s Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said at a press briefing the site would be evacuated Tuesday afternoon, with families transported to the auditorium of Brooklyn’s James Madison High School. He said the occupants were notified of the plans starting at noon and that two other migrant tent facilities run by the city, in Queens and on Randall’s Island, were not currently planned to be evacuated.

In a statement, Adams’ office described the move as a “proactive measure being taken out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals working and living at the center,” given wind speeds were expected to exceed 70 mph Tuesday night.

“The relocation will continue until any weather conditions that may arise have stabilized and the facility is once again fit for living,” the statement said. “We are actively monitoring the situation and will issue updates as necessary.”

After the December storm, Iscol’s agency told Gothamist the tents could withstand maximum wind loads of up to 67.5 mph, ballast had been added to fortify the tents’ resilience, and emergency management officials considered multiple weather factors in determining whether to evacuate the site.

News of Tuesday’s evacuation came on the same day the city began kicking dozens of migrant families out of another shelter site — the Row Hotel in Midtown Manhattan — after they’d reached the end of their 60 days to vacate shelter, a policy instituted by Adams’ administration to make space for new arrivals. Several of the families told Gothamist they were either leaving the city or didn’t know where to go and would reapply for shelter.

The city has issued a travel advisory for Tuesday night, with at least 2 to 4 inches of rain predicted and officials warning of potential power outages and flash flooding. Utility company Con Edison said it had brought on hundreds of outside workers to help respond to the storm.

Paula Belisario, a migrant who has lived at Floyd Bennett Field for two weeks, said the evacuation was proceeding in an orderly fashion. “I am very thankful for the government and the mayor who are helping us,” she said, noting officials had told her buses would arrive around 4 p.m. to take the occupants to a nearby school and that they’d be able to return Wednesday. “They are giving us a roof and food for our kids.”

Residents said they first received notice of the evacuation plans in the form of a picture of a flier passed around via the social media app WhatsApp at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. They were told to assemble outside after their children returned from school.

Some parents were frustrated the information came after their children had already left for school that morning.

“We realized that they were collecting us, but they hadn’t given notice until an hour and a half ago,” said Felipa Prez, who’s lived at the shelter for 15 days. “Many children don’t want to leave school because they didn’t advise them before.”

The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless, two NYC-based nonprofit advocacy groups, said in a statement the city’s “last-minute evacuation” of Floyd Bennett Field proved the site “has never and will never serve as an appropriate and safe place to shelter families with children.”

“Needless to say, today will be very traumatic and disruptive for these families,” the groups said, citing the airfield’s far distance from schools and other services. “We fear, especially with more inclement weather expected this winter, that this is only a foreshadow of more problems to come, and we again urge the City to cease placing families with children at this facility.”

City Comptroller Brad Lander, who earlier announced an investigation into the administration’s 60-day shelter stay policy for migrant families, echoed those criticisms Tuesday.

“The need for the City to find temporary shelter for the people already in temporary shelter demonstrates that the site was not adequately set up for extreme weather, on top of the hardship this isolated and inadequately serviced location, miles from the nearest neighborhood school, already imposes on its residents,” he said in a statement. “While we are reassured that people will be moved out of harm’s way, the City is re-shuffling families time and time again, as we expect more storms and severe weather throughout the winter.”

This story has been updated.

Michelle Bocanegra, Elizabeth Kim, and Arya Sundaram contributed reporting.