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New York, NY–Today, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the tent complex for asylum seekers at Randalls Island, referred to as the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center (HERRC), will be closing next week.

The tent complex, which had the capacity for 1,000 people, was sparsely utilized since opening last month after its initial location at Orchard Beach was nixed. The City will be opening a new HERRC for single men asylum seekers at the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition said:
“We applaud the City’s decision to close the Randalls Island encampment and relocate existing and future asylum seekers to a new location better suited to ensuring they have ready access to mass transit and the supportive services they need to more fully integrate into New York City life.

Still, it is imperative that the City moves quickly to offer permanent housing to longtime shelter residents and others stuck in the city’s overburdened shelter system. The City must also expand eligibility of CityFEPS to include families and individuals regardless of immigration status, and fill the vacancies in all Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) apartments.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Adams administration to create the most welcoming conditions possible for asylum seekers and all new arrivals in a city that has always stood as a beacon of hope for immigrants.”

Background: The New York Immigration Coalition’s Welcoming New York Campaign is advocating for a coordinated City, State and Federal response to asylum seekers being sent by bus from Texas to New York.