On Friday, May 12th, the Adams Administration began housing migrants in the gymnasiums of New York City Public School buildings. Beginning just before noon, the first bus dropped off a group of 50 migrants who arrived at P.S. 188 in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The group was comprised of men and women, with no children.
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Med-Rite, a contract vendor for intake and medical are on site.
Parents and elected officials were in an uproar on Friday upon learning the detached gym at P.S. 188 was going to be used to house migrants. Neither the school principal, parents, nor elected officials were notified by the city.
In an exclusive interview with LittleAfrica News, a P.S. 188 parent said, “A school building is a place for education, not a shelter and it should be a place where all children should feel safe and not have complete strangers in the Gymnasium!!!!”
The Adams Administration later announced it would also use P.S. 172 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn to house migrants. At the time of reporting, cots and supplies had been delivered to the school and parents were notified of the incoming migrants.
A parent of a student that attends P.S. 172 told LittleAfrica News, “I am pro-immigration but at what cost? This is complete negligence and disregard for students and families. P.S. 172 has elementary school students who have abruptly been robbed of their gym space to house migrant people. We have ample space in the city and state of New York to house migrants. Our children should not be the ones giving up their space. The largest stakeholders were not allowed to be part of the decision-making process. This is the most un-Democratic process I have witnessed. Superintendent Alvarez stated he has limited information on the current situation. So how are we the parents and students expected to accept limited information and accept these abrupt changes to the students’ school environment?”
Additional schools slated to receive migrants include P.S. 189, P.S. 18, P.S. 132, and P.S. 17, which is co-located with M.S. 577.
When speaking to LittleAfrica News, a parent of a child who attends M.S. 577 said, “I was shocked when I saw the letter this morning. How come the school didn’t have a meeting with the parents about this?”
The NYC School Safety Coalition issued the following statement in opposition to housing migrants at public schools:
The NYC School Safety Coalition vehemently opposes and is deeply concerned about Mayor Adams housing single adult migrants in schools.
We understand that Mayor Adams is dealing with a humanitarian crisis and is in an untenable and difficult situation.
However, our schools are not shelters to house unvetted adults from all over the world.
Our parents don’t want strangers in our schools. We don’t know who they are, we don’t know their intentions, and we don’t know what they’re capable of. Our schools are dangerous enough with all the weapons being brought in and incidents occurring around the schools.
Why do we have to put our children further at risk?
We call on Mayor Adams to find other housing for unvetted adult migrants. Do not put our children’s safety at risk.
