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NY Post
New York Post
6 Sep 2023


NextImg:Single migrants booted from Stratford Arms to make room for families

Single asylum seekers were booted from a controversial Upper West Side hotel Wednesday and sent to a pricy new facility on Randall’s Island to free up rooms for families — but many of the migrants were not happy about the move.

“In Randall’s Island we don’t have privacy, it’s all together,” said migrant Gonzalo Arcila, 52, a Colombia native who is planning to head to Denver instead of staying at the Randall’s facility, despite the place offering amenities such as laundry services and 24/7 access to snacks.

“I’m looking for new opportunities.”

Arcila was among those departing the the Stratford Arms Hotel on West 70th Street for the Randall’s Island group facility and other locations, such as Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, as city officials attempt to keep asylum-seeking families together.

While he and some of the other rousted asylum seekers grumbled at the change, local residents hailed it, after complaining that groups of young single men were acting up near the hotel.

“Families are moving in, which is good news,” local restaurateur Joe Germanotta told The Post.

Arcila was among those departing the the Stratford Arms Hotel on West 70th Street for other sites, such as Randall’s Island and Creedmoor Psychiatric Center as city officials attempt to keep asylum-seeking families together.

While he and some of the other rousted asylum seekers grumbled at the change, local residents were hailed it, after complaining that groups of young single men were acting up near the hotel.

“Families are moving in, which is good news,” local restaurateur Joe Germanotta told The Post.

Uppper West SIde hotel

City officials confirmed they will be moving single migrants from the Upper West Side hotel to tent shelters starting Wednesday.
J.C. Rice

Germanotta, who is the dad of music star Lady Gaga, says the men who have resided in the hotel until now have been “somewhat rowdy and aggressive,” sometimes riding motorbikes that disrupt neighborhood peace.

“Only the young men had motorbikes,” Germanotta said. “The women there mostly sold water out of shopping carts in Central Park.”

“We’re optimistic the new demographic will be more suitable for a residential neighborhood,” the 66 year old added. “It should reduce the number of unregistered motorbikes on the street.”

One of the moving migrants who said he bought a motorbike to use for his job as a delivery person, said he was told a week ago that he would be moving to Randall’s Island on Thursday.

migrants

Two tent shelter sites have been erected at Randall’s Island and Creedmore in Queens to house single migrants, who will be bused from the Upper West Side hotel beginning this week.
Christopher Sadowski

“I’ve heard that they do this every two months so people get sick and tired of the relocation so they start to look for apartments. But they are very expensive in New York,” Mesut Efe, 36, from Diyarbakir, Turkey told The Post.

He said he was unhappy with the moves as he feared the tent will be cramped and that being on the island will make it more difficult to do his job.

“We’re going there tomorrow and I don’t know what it’s like, but I’ve looked at photos and a lot of people are laying next to each other,” he said. “This will be a huge problem in the winter with disease.” 

migrants

The city hopes to keep migrant families together inside the makeshift shelters in hotels.
Christopher Sadowski

“I am a food delivery person. I bought my own motorbike for the job. I don’t know how to get to Randalls Island. No one is giving us any directions or help. We heard there is also a 10 p.m. curfew. We all work around Times Square for food delivery. Our job gets busy at night.”

Arcilla, meanwhile, said he is quitting the city altogether rather than go to the state-funded Randall’s Island facility, where

— after being given some cash from people at the hotel to get a bus ride to Colorado.

“I don’t want to go to Randall’s Island so I’m going to Denver. Here we have privacy. In Randall’s Island, we don’t have privacy, it’s all together.”

The makeshift facility off Manhattan is one of four migrant housing sites fully funded by the state, which will provide $20 million each month to keep up with the flood of migrants entering the Big Apple.

The Randall’s Island shelter, consisting of dormitory-style tents as well as amenities like 24/7 access to drinks and snacks, laundry and lock boxes, opened on kiddie soccer fields last month.

The controversial shelter is expected to house up to 3,000 migrants.

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom confirmed to The Post that single migrants were being shuffled from the hotel into other shelters on Wednesday as six buses are expected to reach Port Authority from Texas.

tent shelters

Single male and female asylum seekers will be transported to tent shelters beginning Wednesday.

“With the 100,000 people coming to the city, there’re no good solutions and so what we would like to do is prioritize families with children. And so in those places where there are single adults were doubled or tripled up in hotel rooms or scientific businesses that we want to move them into congregate settings,” Williams-Isom said.

“We’re trying to do the best that we can to free up space and hotel rooms so that we can have more space for them. So it’s a dire situation,” she added.

The two tent sites on Randall’s Island and at Creedmoor play a “critical” role in keeping families together, according to Dr. Ted Long, the senior vice president at New York City Health and Hospitals.

tent shelters

Migrants expressed concern that the tent shelters may become an issue as the seasons change.
Stephen Yang for NY Post

“The reason for that is we currently have hotels with adults in them that are transitioning to these new sites so that we can then dedicate those hotels for children and families,” Long said on Aug. 23.

“Children, especially young children, have been through intense trauma in their journey here. And they need the safety, security and privacy like it looks to be their recovery,” he added.

As the city prioritizes keeping migrant families together, asylum seekers getting the boot from the Stratford Arms Hotel feel slighted at the downgrade to tent shelters on Randall’s Island and Creedmoor.

Another concern of Efe’s is how cramped the tent shelters may become as the seasons change and migrants continue to inundate the Big Apple.

“We’re going there tomorrow and I don’t know what it’s like, but I’ve looked at photos and a lot of people are laying next to each other,” he said. “This will be a huge problem in the winter with disease.”