New York — The New York Police Department cleared asylum seekers from outside the Watson Hotel in Midtown on Wednesday night. Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
A New York Police Department officer descended on the asylum seekers’ camp and ordered them to pack up and leave the pavement.
In Spanish, Carlos Espinosa told CBS2’s Ali Bauman that the presence of the police had scared him and he hadn’t decided where to go.
Espinosa was one of dozens of asylum seekers sleeping outside a hotel since Sunday, refusing to move to the city’s collective shelter in Brooklyn.
A few hours ago, city council members visited the new facility.
But what do the men who have moved there think?
Lawmakers joined the chorus of calls criticizing the living conditions inside the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, the new home for 1,000 asylum seekers.
“New York City is trying to discourage people from taking care of themselves, so they set up these kinds of gathering facilities the way they have,” said City Councilman Lincoln Ressler. Told.
read more: Asylum seekers camped outside Watson Hotel say they want to hear directly from Mayor Eric Adams
For days, the city has struggled to convince people staying in hotels in Midtown to move to Red Hook so they can furnish their families with hotel rooms.
many refusedchoosing to camp in the cold in front of Watson, New shelters claim to be isolated, without transport and crib piled head to toe.
Asylum seekers whom CBS2 spoke to in Brooklyn on Wednesday said they have adapted well.
“A man can go anywhere, sleep anywhere, eat anything, but if he has kids, it’s a different story,” said Oscar Marin of Colombia.
The city has battled negative reaction by posting videos and photos of the facility, reiterating that it has nearly 100 toilets, temperature-controlled showers, hot showers and three meals a day.
Mayor Eric Adams has accused some villains of spreading misinformation.
“An overwhelming number of them are on the move. My analysis is that about 30 are still there and I am not even sure if they are immigrants. I think it’s putting people at a disadvantage,” Adams said. He said.
read more: Mayor Adams’ plan to use Brooklyn Cruise Terminal as emergency shelter for asylum seekers faces backlash
But advocates say people are right to be upset.
“No one wants to sleep with 999 people in the same room. I think it puts them in a very difficult position, especially for clients who have been through a lot of trauma,” said a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society. One Kathryn Cliff said:
Activists and council members say there’s no reason New York City can’t have more hotels for asylum seekers, adding that moving to Brooklyn will make their trauma worse.
Christina Huang
