NYC Nears Cruise Ship Deal To House Migrants: Report

NEW YORK CITY — New York City’s planned tent city for migrants could be joined by a massive cruise ship, according to a new report.

Mayor Eric Adams is nearing a deal with Norwegian Cruise to lease a luxury ship for at least six months and dock it in Staten Island’s Homeport, where it will house asylum seekers as they are processed into the city’s shelter system, the New York Post reported.

City Hall officials didn’t directly confirm the report, but said the mayor is looking at a multitude of options. Nothing is finalized, they said.

But advocates quickly made clear they weren’t all-aboard with the reported plan.

Cruise ships aren’t designed or equipped to provide shelter and services to homeless people, especially those with disabilities, said advocates with The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless in a joint statement.

“Given the limited number of spaces in New York City where a cruise ship could dock, we’re especially concerned with individuals’ and families’ ability to access jobs, health care, schools, childcare, legal assistance, community-based services, and other critical resources,” they said.

Adams has said 13,000 migrants, largely from South America, have inundated the city’s shelter system. He laid at least part of the blame on Republican governors such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for shipping asylum seekers to the city.

To deal with the surge, Adams plans to build a tent city in The Bronx to house 1,000 migrants — a plan that came under fire for numerous reasons, including his apparent intentnot to follow the city’s right-to-shelter protections.

The New York Post’s report states the cruise ship plan would cost $15 million and migrants to come and go while staying on the ship.

Legal Aid and Coalition for the Homeless advocates said they hoped to review the plan’s specifics.

“Although we oppose the plan of placing asylum seekers on a cruise ship, the City has assured us that they will comply with all applicable rules and court orders, which means that clients can enter the Department of Homeless Services shelter system if they decline a shelter option that is not in compliance with the relevant court orders, such as the Orchard Beach tent facility or a cruise ship,” they said.