MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — The clock is ticking for the dozens of asylum seekers who have chosen to camp out on the sidewalk in front of the Watson Hotel on West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan.
They know that in just a few days, the weather is headed for a drastic turn for the worse, with a sub-zero wind chill in the forecast.
That means Carlos, from Ecuador, and his fellow migrants must decide whether to accept the city’s transfer to the cruise terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn, go to a traditional city shelter or continue living on the street.
New York City Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro repeated the same message Friday we’ve been hearing over the last several days from the Adams administration.
“The truth is we are max capacity with hotels. We need the space for children and families. And this was always meant to be temporary,” said Castro.
In an effort to address what he calls misinformation about the true nature of the emergency facility in Red Hook, Castro took a bus ride there Friday with about 15 migrants. Ten of the migrants decided to stay, Castro’s staff said.
But for many of the their counterparts, the Brooklyn facility is just too isolated from lives they’ve begun building in Manhattan and too far from the jobs they depend on to survive.
“These are working men. As you can see all the bicycles here, they are delivery drivers, they are cleaners, and they need a place to put their personal belongings where they go. The Brooklyn terminal does not have any space for personal belongings,” said migrant advocate Sergio Uzurin.
Carlos, the Ecuadorian asylum seeker, said he wants to make it clear that he’s grateful for how he’s been treated since he arrived in New York City. He said he never imagined the help that he’s received from the community.