Mayor Adams: NYC To Close Randall's Island Migrant Shelter Next Year

NEW YORK CITY — A migrant shelter at Randall's Island is set to close early next year, Mayor Eric Adams announced.

The Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center on Randall’s Island will close at the end of February.

The influx of migrants into the city significantly decreasing for 14 straight weeks led to the decision, officials said.

"We're not out of the woods yet, but make no mistake, thanks in large part to our smart management strategies and successful advocacy, we have turned the corner on this crisis," said Adams in a statement. "We're not scrambling every day to open new shelters - we're talking about closing them. We're not talking about how much we're spending - we're talking about how much we've saved. And thanks to today's announcement, in a few months, we'll be talking about how much we're investing in restoring Randall's Island's incredible fields and parks for community use."

The city has already begun to decrease capacity at Randall’s Island, taking down the largest residential tent structure and returning one of the athletic fields to eventual community use following restoration.

Over the coming months, the city will continue to gradually reduce the population on-site, officials said.

"The ability to close the Randall’s Island humanitarian relief center marks the latest milestone we have reached as an administration addressing this humanitarian crisis,” said Mayor’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations Molly Schaeffer.

The city’s Asylum Application Help Center has helped complete more than 72,000 applications for work authorization, temporary protected status, and asylum. The city has also purchased 47,000 tickets to help migrants reach their preferred destinations and help reduce long-term costs for New York City taxpayers.