Mayor Adams’ Statement On Use Of Floyd Bennett Field To Shelter Asylum Seekers

September 15, 2023

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the following statement after the City of New York and the federal government came to an agreement on the use of on Floyd Bennett Field to shelter asylum seekers:

“New York City has entered into a lease agreement with the federal government that allows us to use Floyd Bennett field as an emergency site to shelter some of the more than 113,300 asylum seekers who have sought our care since the spring of 2022. I want to thank Governor Hochul for her commitment to reimbursing New York City fully for the use of this site, and I’m looking forward to further partnerships with our friends in Albany as we manage this ongoing crisis.

“But let’s be clear: If the federal government were to issue an emergency declaration, additional federal space and funding would become available to better manage this crisis. Further, as I have said before, because we haven’t seen meaningful policy changes that would alter the course of this crisis, we’ve been forced to unsustainably open new site after new site as asylum seekers continue to arrive by the thousands. This is not an adequate solution or any sort of long-term plan by the federal government to this national problem.

“We will continue to advocate for expedited work authorizations for asylum seekers, a federal declaration of emergency, more federal funds, and a national and state decompression strategy. We are hopeful that today's announcement is an example of the state and federal governments’ commitment to leading on this national humanitarian crisis.”