The Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter in Manhattan is set to close in the coming months as the number of asylum seekers in New York City’s care continues to decline, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.
The shelter, which has served as a key intake center for migrants, will likely stop operations by June, according to sources.
Since the influx of migrants to New York City began in spring 2022, more than 232,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the city. However, with recent shifts in federal immigration policy, the number of new arrivals has dropped significantly.
Adams stated that the city is now seeing an average of 350 new migrants entering city care each week— a dramatic decrease from the peak of 4,000 weekly arrivals at the height of the crisis.
City data shows that in the week leading up to February 2, about 200 new migrants sought assistance from the city, while 1,800 exited shelters.
In the first week of President Donald Trump’s new term, 300 new migrants entered the system while 1,800 left.
By comparison, the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency saw between 400 and 500 new arrivals per week, a decline from the 700 to 900 migrants arriving weekly over the summer.
Adams, 64, framed the Roosevelt Hotel shelter’s closure as a positive step, crediting “the successful strategies we put in place here in New York City and because of policies we advocated for at the border.”
“While we’re not done caring for those that came into our care, today marks another milestone in demonstrating the immense progress we have achieved in turning the corner on the unprecedented international humanitarian effort,” Adams said in a video announcement.
Although the Roosevelt Hotel will shut down as a migrant shelter, newly arriving asylum seekers will still be able to register at other locations, according to City Hall.
At one point in January 2024, there were approximately 69,000 migrants in the city’s shelter system. That number has now dropped to less than 45,000, according to officials.
The Adams administration has announced plans to close 53 migrant shelters across the city, including all tent shelters, between June 2023 and June 2024.
The Roosevelt Hotel, which contains about 1,000 rooms, was converted into a migrant intake center and shelter in May 2023 as the city struggled to manage the influx of asylum seekers, many of whom had been bused from southern border states. Since then, more than 173,000 migrants have registered at the site.
However, the hotel has faced various issues since its transformation, with reports of gang activity, illegal motorbike deliveries blocking sidewalks, and migrants sleeping in cars due to overcrowding, according to sources.
Adams’ announcement follows New York City’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over $80.5 million in migrant funding that had previously been approved by Congress.
The White House reallocated the funds last week, prompting the city’s legal action.
The mayor has also faced accusations that he struck a deal with the Trump administration to assist in the president’s illegal immigration crackdown in exchange for the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropping a federal corruption case against him. Both Adams and the DOJ have denied these allegations.
The criminal case against Adams remains unresolved. A judge stated Friday that he wants to hear from an independent lawyer before ruling on whether to grant the DOJ’s motion to dismiss the case. Adams has denied all wrongdoing.
As the city continues to manage its migrant crisis, the closure of the Roosevelt Hotel shelter marks a turning point in New York’s approach to handling asylum seekers.
