On Tuesday, June 27th, Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to build 12 more mega-shelters to house over 50,000 migrants following an escalating migrant crisis. The announcement indicated a significant increase in the city’s response to the situation.
One of the upcoming facilities, a former student residence at 1760 Third Avenue located between 97th and 98th Street in Manhattan’s Carnegie Hill neighborhood, is set to house over 500 migrant families.
This move is part of the city’s broader humanitarian initiative as it grapples with over 50,000 asylum-seeking migrants already under its care and more than 81,200 requests for assistance since last spring.
New York City’s shelter system currently houses an unprecedented 100,000 individuals, over half of whom are recent immigrants, amid an escalating housing crisis.
As part of these efforts, New York City is currently utilizing 175 emergency shelters distributed throughout the city, including hotels and substantial temporary locations to house the migrants. It costs the city approximately $8 million per day.
Similar to the planned structure on 160 Third Avenue, these temporary facilities are dubbed Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRCs).
However, the city’s budget experts predict that the cost of housing, feeding, and offering other necessary services to the migrant population could exceed $4.3 billion by June 2024.
