Lease of NYC tent shelter housing illegal aliens could be renewed — and local residents aren't happy



Dozens of New York City residents, led by a 30-vehicle caravan, rallied together on Sunday to protest the massive tent city shelter at Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field as the city's lease agreement with the federal government nears its end.

The locals, including elected officials and veterans, urged the city not to renew its lease and instead shut down the 2,000-bed makeshift accommodations housing some of the more than 214,000 illegal immigrants who have relocated to New York City over the past two years.

'They have complete immunity.'

The city's lease with the National Park Service is set to expire on September 14. The current lease does not indicate an automatic right to renewal or extension.

Assemblywoman Jaime Williams (R-Brooklyn) told the New York Post, "We have these migrants coming in, door knocking, stealing packages, you know, soliciting everywhere in front of our supermarkets, playing at the heartstrings of people."

"And this is not what our community is about," Williams continued. "Floyd Bennett field is not a place to house migrants. It's a flood zone [with] no infrastructure whatsoever. So when you have them in that type of setting, there is nothing left to do. They're going to be on the street because they don't have any jobs."

Antonia Natal, a longtime resident, stated, "I don't mind if they come in the legal way."

"That's what our country's about. That's what our country is built on, many migrants — legal. And I'm supportive of that," Natal added. "I feel we need to do that with the whole city — no illegals, no shelters."

Natal expressed concern that the influx of illegal immigrants in New York City would "damage" the local economy and housing market.

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who has led a number of protests against the city's shelters, said Sunday that illegal immigrants are flooding into the area "every day," the Post reported.

"They're still checking in at the [city intake center at] the Roosevelt Hotel. And they have complete immunity. You arrest an illegal alien, they get cut loose," he stated.

A spokesperson for City Hall told the news outlet, "With over 210 emergency sites currently operating and hundreds of new arrivals continuing to arrive in New York City every week, we have been out of good options for a while now."

"The site at Floyd Bennett Field has been one tool in our very limited toolbox for sheltering hundreds of migrant families with children every night. We continue to advocate for additional support from the federal partners and ask our elected partners to join us," the spokesperson remarked.

More than 100 residents held a similar protest in June, demanding the city revoke the lease, Blaze News previously reported. One local who attended the rally fumed that the illegal immigrants were "being prioritized over New Yorkers."

In August, the House Committee on Natural Resources subpoenaed the Biden-Harris administration's Department of Homeland Security, claiming that the federal government failed to produce requested information about the Floyd Bennett Field shelter. Lawmakers sought reports on how the site was selected and the vetting process for the tenants following "widespread reports of criminality," including "domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, prostitution, and panhandling scams."

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House subpoenas records on 'ramshackle, crime-ridden' illegal alien shelter in NYC after DHS 'repeatedly blocked' inquiries



The House Committee on Natural Resources issued a subpoena on Friday to the Biden-Harris administration's Department of Homeland Security for allegedly failing to produce requested reports on a makeshift shelter for illegal immigrants in New York City, according to a committee press release.

Last year, the federal government penned a deal with the city to set up an encampment at Floyd Bennett Field, a National Park Service site. Since then, the House committee has opened inquiries into the deal, requesting additional information on the decision to use the space as shelter for illegal aliens. However, it claims that the DHS has failed to comply with those requests.

'Democrat bureaucrats have repeatedly blocked congressional inquiries.'

The subpoena, issued by committee chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas), stated that the DHS has "obstruct[ed] the Committee's investigation rather than comply in a timely manner with legitimate oversight requests."

"DHS blamed production delays on other priorities, software outages, backlogs, and review time of thousands of pages of tailored search results," the subpoena read.

The committee accused the federal government of "successfully kick[ing] the production can down the road and refus[ing] to meaningfully cooperate with the Committee—with no end in sight."

In a statement regarding the recent subpoena, Westerman said, "Using national parks to house migrants and cover up Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' border crisis is an egregious misuse of our national treasures. This sets a concerning precedent for the future of our public lands. This committee has conducted months of oversight on the shady backroom deals that resulted in a ramshackle, crime-ridden encampment built in a national park."

"Still, Democrat bureaucrats have repeatedly blocked congressional inquiries," Westerman continued. "At best, they sent heavily redacted documents that provided no useful information. At worst, they failed to even acknowledge congressional requests. I refuse to play their games. Today, I'm using the committee's full authority to get to the bottom of this disastrous decision and hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable for desecrating America's most treasured public landscapes."

The committee hopes the investigation into the lease will expose the government's "abuse of power."

Anything else?

Part of the remote airfield was converted into makeshift shelter accommodations for illegal immigrants last year by Mayor Eric Adams' (D) administration. The site was slated to provide housing to roughly 2,000 people.

Many individuals shuttled over to the location as part of the first busload refused to stay at the tent city, complaining that the site was too isolated. Local Republicans and Democrats both pushed back on the administration's decision to use the space for housing.

Adams imposed a curfew on tenants earlier this year after New York residents complained about an increase in begging and criminal activity around the shelter. In March, Westerman sent a letter to the National Park Service demanding more information about the vetting process of its tenants after the reported "uptick in crime" in the area.

"The widespread reports of criminality in and around the Floyd Bennett Field migrant encampment include domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, prostitution, and panhandling scams," the lawmakers wrote. "The Committee is deeply concerned with the Biden administration's management of American's public lands, notably at Floyd Bennett Field, and the inherent safety risks to employees at the park, residents of the surrounding communities, and migrants as a result of the decision to lease national park land for a migrant encampment."

The DHS did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Post.

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NYC residents protest tent city shelter: ‘Illegals are being prioritized over New Yorkers’



New York City residents gathered on Sunday to protest a tent city shelter used to house illegal immigrants, the New York Post reported.

More than 100 locals and elected officials demanded that the city revoke its lease with Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, which has been providing shelter accommodations to approximately 2,000 illegal aliens since last year.

'Today we’re saying 'no more.''

Protesters arrived at the rally in a 90-vehicle caravan, carrying American flags and signs reading, “Preserve the American dream,” “Stop migrant crime,” and “Revoke the lease to Floyd Bennett.”

Residents have raised complaints with the city since the shelter opened.

Republican lawmakers sent a letter to National Park Services in March requesting information regarding the vetting process for the shelter’s tenants after residents reported an increase in panhandling and criminal activity.

The letter stated, “Since the establishment of the migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field, local and national media have reported an uptick in crime at the migrant encampment and in the immediate neighborhood surrounding the park.”

“The widespread reports of criminality in and around the Floyd Bennett Field migrant encampment include domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, prostitution, and panhandling scams,” it continued.

The first busload of illegal aliens who arrived at the shelter in November refused to stay, instead demanding the city provide them with better accommodations. Many complained that the location of the shelter was too far from work or their children’s schools.

Brenda Lee, a New York City resident who attended Sunday’s protest, told the Post, “Illegals are being prioritized over New Yorkers and many, many New Yorkers feel that this crisis is just not debatable and there’s no end in sight.”

“We need to speak up about exactly ... where this is gonna go,” Lee continued. “How is it going to end?”

“Is it gonna end?” she questioned.

City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Brooklyn) told protesters during the rally, “There are other places now that the migrants from that base camp can go.”

“We need to be able to go to our national park and enjoy it. That was taken from us,” Ariola stated. “It’s been taken from us this summer and it must not be renewed.”

Assemblywoman Jaime Williams (R-Brooklyn), who also attended the protest, declared, “Today we’re saying ‘no more.’”

“It’s time that we take our community back, our city back, our state back. But let this be known that we are sending a very clear message to those individuals that are acting like thugs that we need our borders closed,” Williams added.

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‘Uptick in crime’ near controversial NYC migrant shelter prompts GOP lawmakers to demand vetting process records: Report



An “uptick in crime” near a controversial New York City migrant shelter prompted Republican lawmakers to send a letter, obtained by the New York Post, to the National Park Service demanding information about the vetting process for tenants.

House Republican Bruce Westerman, the chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, and seven other GOP lawmakers penned a letter to NPS director Charles Sams stating that the House Committee on Natural Resources is examining the decision to house migrants at Floyd Bennett Field, which is located on NPS land.

The city began housing migrants at the Brooklyn airfield in November after its existing shelter system neared capacity. Many of the migrants who were part of the first busload transported to Floyd Bennett Field refused to reside at the makeshift tent city shelter, complaining that the accommodations were too remote.

The shelter, which can house up to 2,000 migrants, became a hotbed for panhandling, according to residents in the area. An increase in begging and criminal activity prompted Democratic Mayor Eric Adams to impose a curfew at some migrant shelter locations.

“Since the establishment of the migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field, local and national media have reported an uptick in crime at the migrant encampment and in the immediate neighborhood surrounding the park,” lawmakers wrote to Sams.

The letter stated that the migrant crisis has led to an increase in criminal activity in the city and nationwide.

“The widespread reports of criminality in and around the Floyd Bennett Field migrant encampment include domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, prostitution, and panhandling scams,” the lawmakers said. “The Committee is deeply concerned with the Biden administration’s management of American’s public lands, notably at Floyd Bennett Field, and the inherent safety risks to employees at the park, residents of the surrounding communities, and migrants as a result of the decision to lease national park land for a migrant encampment.”

The lawmakers noted that the lease agreement states that the New York Police Department is the “primary entity responsible for law enforcement issues” at the encampment but that the Adams administration “contracted with a private security firm.”

“[O]n at least one occasion, the private security firm has impeded NYPD officers attempting to access the camp,” the letter claimed.

Lawmakers added that migrant tenants “are not subject to a basic background search during the intake process.”

“All tenants, employees of Floyd Bennett Field, and surrounding residents deserve to know if they are living with migrants who have previous arrest records and/or convictions,” the House Republicans wrote.

The letter requested that the NPS provide lawmakers with “documents and communications” concerning the lease and the shelter’s intake process by April 11.

Lawmakers demanded evidence that shows “how NPS has cooperated, or plans to cooperate, with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” “how the migrant tenants at Floyd Bennett Field are screened,” and “how NPS is preventing persons with a history of criminal conduct from residing at Floyd Bennett Field.”

The letter was signed by Republican Representatives Westerman from Arkansas, Paul Gosar from Arizona, and Mike Collins from Georgia. New York Republican Representatives Anthony D'Esposito, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota, Nicole Malliotakis, and Elise Stefanik also signed the correspondence.

Neither the NPS nor Adams’ office responded to a request for comment from the Post.

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