NYC officials spark anger by building migrant shelters on kids' soccer fields at popular park
As New York City continues to struggle to find housing for migrants, officials have now decided to use a popular park, drawing criticism for overtaking soccer fields built for youth sports.
Republican city council candidate Ying Tan joined "Fox & Friends" Tuesday to discuss why she opposes the plan, calling on the federal government to help the city.
"We have to secure the border, and we have to ask the federal government to provide funding to New York City."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, announced that a new taxpayer-funded tent city for illegal migrants will be going up in the Big Apple.
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Adams announced Monday that Randall’s Island in New York City will be the new spot for the more than 57,000 illegal migrants living in the city that never sleeps.
Migrants are seen sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan early Monday July 31, 2023. Asylum seekers are camping outside the Roosevelt Hotel as the Manhattan relief center is at capacity. (Photo by Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images) (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
"As the number of asylum seekers in our care continues to grow by hundreds every day, stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond, it has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night," Adams said in a press release on Monday.
Tan said migrants have already been dropped off at Brooklyn's Sunset Park without notifying the community and said citizens have the right to know ahead of time.
Tan added that there was a rally a few days ago, including legal immigrants, to show opposition to sending migrants to their neighborhoods without notifying the community.
"We need to use the park. That is where most of the senior citizens usually hang out to exercise, and also kids play sports here," said Tan. "So this is not fair to occupy the park even though you say it's temporary, but once they move, we can't guarantee they will not come back again."
Migrants arrive at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital )
She added, "We cannot use our own resources to take care of these migrants on our own. This is not fair for our taxpayers."
New York City has more than 50,000 migrants in its shelter system in what has become one of the most publicized migrant crises on the East Coast. Adams recently said that the sanctuary city has "run out of room" for new migrants and even called for a "state of emergency" in the city to battle the crisis.
New York lawmakers announced in June that the city would receive $104.6 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for its Shelter and Services Program.
FOX Business' Madison Alworth reported from the site on "America's Newsroom," explaining that families in the area are "frustrated" that the construction is going forward as the city rushes to find space for 2,000 men.
Opponents told The New York Post that the project runs counter to the longstanding efforts by city officials to promote youth sports and keep kids off the streets.
"While we are empathetic to the humanitarian crisis, we also understand that taking these highly used athletic fields offline is a loss for many NYC schools and leagues," Randall's Island Park Alliance said in a statement.
Thousands of migrant students are reportedly set to arrive in schools in the coming weeks, prompting concerns from parents.
Alworth said the city has opened over 190 emergency shelters, including 13 other large-scale humanitarian relief centers.
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Fox News' Houston Keene contributed to this report.
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