The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, made a surprising turnaround in his decision to convert an abandoned luxury building into a migrant shelter. This comes as he faced very strong opposition from the residents of the Harlem community. They felt disrespected, ignored, and frustrated by the lack of transparency with the mayor’s plan.
This is because the residents were unaware of the plans until much later. The mayor kept them in the dark, and they only found out about it when they saw people delivering bunk beds to the building. Therefore, their outrage was justified.
The luxury apartment complex is located on the corner of 130th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. It has been totally abandoned for about ten years. This resulted from its developers defaulting on loans, leading to its seizure.
It was originally designed as luxury housing but has many unused amenities. These include wide spaces, running water, and even a swimming pool.
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The plans for conversion into a shelter started when they leased the building to a nonprofit organization. This group intended to collaborate with the city’s Department of Social Services/Homeless Services to repurpose it as either a shelter for migrants or for the city’s homeless population.
Therefore, the residents believe it should be converted for the homeless, not migrants. Why? New York City is experiencing a major homelessness crisis. This is thanks to housing prices rising over the years.
So, the residents believe that the mayor should take care of its homeless population before giving shelter to migrants. Tiffany Fulton, the executive director of Silent Voices United Inc., voiced her opposition to the conversion.
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“No, I don’t agree with it turning into a sanctuary for asylum seekers, knowing we have people right here that need the space,” she said. The aggrieved residents held a community meeting in upper Manhattan to express their concerns.
Surprisingly, the mayor made an appearance at this meeting. There, he assured the members of the community that the building would not house migrants. Instead, they will use it to accommodate local homeless New Yorkers.
Even after he did this, the issue still upset the residents. They complained about the increase in homelessness in the city. They also complained about him leaving them in the dark more often than not.
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On the other hand, some residents advocated for the building to be used to create affordable housing options. They argued that this would be a better use of the space. However, they still decided to use the building as a homeless shelter.
While Mayor Adams was still there, they also emphasized the need for affordable housing in the city. They need him to do something about it soon. The mayor listened to their complaints and promised to do his best.
Recently, the housing crisis in New York City has doubled, causing many problems. Homeless people are increasing, and the streets are full of them.
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