RANDALL’S ISLAND (WABC) — With tens of thousands of migrants in New York City’s care and the shelters pushed to the limit, the city opened its largest relief center at a familiar place on Sunday – Randall’s Island.
“The meaningful part about us being back here now is it shows we’ve used all the other options and have to create new options today,” said Senior VP of NYC Health + Hospitals, Dr. Ted Long.
Tents went up on Randall’s Island nearly a year ago in a parking lot. Now, the Island is home again to a giant emergency shelter with cots for three thousand adult asylum seekers – men and women – this time on soccer fields.
First, the migrants are given a health screening – that includes COVID, a skin exam for varicella or chicken pox, and active tuberculosis.
They have access to bathrooms, a cafeteria, and caseworkers. Everything is on the table.
“We really want to offer quality sites like this where people can, you know, take a breath – work with caseworkers and figure out next steps,” said NYC Emergency Management First Deputy Commissioner Christina Farrell.
In a new country and on a long journey, comfort can be hard to achieve. Some of the thousands of cots will accommodate asylum seekers with disabilities. All will have lock boxes under their cots for personal belongings.
In contrast, the city says it still has gotten anything but comfort from the Federal government.
“We just do not understand why at 100,000 asylum seekers and with this much impact on NYC, the federal government has not responded appropriately,” said Commissioner for Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Miguel Castro.
The facility, funded by the state, welcomed 150 men on Sunday. They have been in city respite centers the longest. As for what is next – a citywide search for other large sites for these big tents.
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