Hundreds of anxious migrants trying to get back into the Big Apple shelters have again flooded the East Village as the city struggles to find housing with thousands of asylum seekers still arriving each week.
The line stretched around the block at the former St. Brigid School on East 7th Street near Tompkins Square Park on a frigid Friday afternoon for a shot at getting back into a shelter after their 30-day time limit had expired.
“I want to be in New York City, not anywhere else,” said a Peruvian migrant who just got his ticket back into the system after nearly nine hours on line. “The shelter they sent me to is in Jamaica. It doesn’t open until 8 p.m. so I have no reason to go now and wait in the cold.
“More bracing the cold now.”
The scene was reminiscent of the queues that formed in the days after Thanksgiving due to a staffing shortage and a flawed ticketing process — leading to migrants sleeping overnight to be the first in line when the site opened.
But those problems have since been fixed and these crowds have become the new normal with nearly 70,000 people seeking asylum currently in the city’s care, according to City Hall.
“This is what the mayor has been saying was going to happen,” said spokesperson Kayla Mamalek.
The Adams administration has been pleading for more federal help to handle the $12 billion migrant crisis for months to little to no avail.
Just last week, another 3,600 asylum seekers arrived in NYC and, under city policy, those new arrivals have first crack at a spot in the shelters before those whose 30-day limit has expired.
The migrants were undeterred by the long lines and hopeful for a bed soon.
“I’ve been in line for about an hour, it’s been bad but not too bad, moving quicker,” said Louis, who fled Venezuela.
“I’ve been in New York for about a month now, staying at a shelter in Brooklyn,” he said, raving about the city.
“The city is great, you just need money so that’s the problem. If I get my papers and acquire a good job and a nice apartment of course I’d stay here, but it all depends.”
Jose Mendez, who came from Venezuela in June, hopes to bolt from the Big Apple as quickly as possible.
“I want to leave New York as soon as I can, it’s too much here,” he said. “I don’t know where I’ll go, but anywhere I can find a job and live like a normal person.”
The asylum seekers are no longer braving the cold overnight. Instead, the city has set up four waiting areas for them as they wait for spots to open up.