After serving as a symbol of New York City’s challenges in managing an influx of international migrants, a Manhattan hotel-turned-shelter is set to close. Mayor Eric Adams announced this week that the Roosevelt Hotel, along with over 50 other shelters for migrants, will shut down by June. The decrease in arrivals over the past seven months has led the city to transfer many migrants to alternative housing options and communities.
The decision to close the shelter coincides with the Trump administration’s tough stance on immigration, particularly targeting New York City’s hotel shelters, including the Roosevelt. Adams’ handling of immigration has been closely scrutinized following the Department of Justice’s request to drop criminal bribery charges against him, citing the need for his cooperation on immigration enforcement. Adams, a Democratic mayor, has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Here is a closer look at the Roosevelt Hotel and the trajectory of the migrant surge in New York City:
How did the Roosevelt Hotel transition into a migrant shelter?
Situated just blocks away from Grand Central Terminal, the Roosevelt Hotel, which opened in 1924, saw its operations come to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. With New York City facing the challenge of accommodating around 4,000 migrant arrivals weekly, the city leased the Roosevelt in May 2023 from its owner, Pakistan’s government-owned airline.
The hotel garnered attention for being both an arrival center for newcomers to access services and a shelter for families with children, who could stay for up to 60 days without reapplying. City officials have not disclosed the current number of occupants or the total expenditure over time, but Adams stated that the city has spent billions on the over 232,000 migrants who have arrived since spring 2022.
Why is the Roosevelt Hotel shelter closing?
Mayor Adams cited a significant drop in migrant arrivals, with the city now receiving an average of about 350 migrants per week, down from 4,000 previously. The shelter population has also decreased from 69,000 a year ago to under 45,000 currently. Adams attributed the decline to both stricter federal immigration policies and the city’s own efforts, such as limiting shelter stays and providing travel tickets to over 52,000 migrants interested in relocating.
As the closure of the Roosevelt Hotel shelter approaches, the fate of its occupants and services remains uncertain.
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Are you here? Adams mentioned that those individuals with shelter reservations extending into April or May will be provided accommodation, either at the Roosevelt Hotel or another location. In terms of newcomers, he assured that the city would maintain a system for welcoming and assisting individuals to stabilize their situation. However, the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless expressed concerns about the city’s capacity to address the increasing demand for assistance. The future of the Roosevelt Hotel building is uncertain at this point. An inquiry for further details was dispatched on Tuesday to a real estate firm that might be collaborating with the property owners on future plans. Contributions to this article were made by Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz.
