New York City to Open Two More Humanitarian Emergency Response and Aid Centers for Asylum Seekers

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that the city will soon open two additional Humanitarian Emergency Response and Aid Centers as New York City continues to receive thousands of asylum seekers. They arrive weekly.

The two humanitarian aid centers, located at 205 and 207 West 85th Street (together as one) and 117 West 70th Street in Manhattan, will serve adult families and single women.

With the estimated number of asylum seekers arriving in the city since last spring exceeding at least 74,000, these sites will serve more than 800 people in 516 rooms.

“New York City is facing a humanitarian crisis like no other before it,” said Mayor Adams. “With more than 47,000 asylum seekers still in the care of the city and thousands continuing to arrive each week, we need a national decompression strategy to manage this national problem. New York City has stepped up, opening nearly 170 emergency sites to provide temporary shelter, but without federal help and a strategy to move migrants across the country, we cannot continue to treat asylum seekers who they arrive with the dignity and compassion they deserve.”

Since this humanitarian crisis began, the city has taken swift and urgent action, opening a total of nearly 170 emergency shelters, including nine additional large-scale humanitarian aid centers; establish navigation centers to connect asylum seekers with critical resources; enroll thousands of children in public schools through the Open Arms Project; and more.

“Despite the immense magnitude of this crisis, New York City has not only managed to keep the ship afloat over the past year, but it continues to find solutions to address the urgent needs of this vulnerable population,” said the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety, Philip Banks III. “The opening of these centers represents another milestone in our comprehensive approach to ensuring the safety, dignity and well-being of asylum seekers.”