Last month, Mayor Adams stunned the Red Hook community by unilaterally announcing that the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal will be housing asylum seekers, more specifically, 1000 men, many of them relocated from a Manhattan hotel.
Red Hook Mutual Aid (RHMA) jumped into action to try and help the new population. RHMA is a group of volunteers who up until now have mostly helped those in need via telephone banking. Now they are in the midst of collecting clothing to give to the migrants.
Local reaction is mixed, with some on Facebook voicing enmity, and many others wanting to be supportive of our new neighbors.
We spoke to a few locals to get some observations. Frankie from F&M Cafe on Van Brunt told us “I haven’t actually seen new people in the neighborhood so far. I see them all the time in the news but so far that’s all. The last I heard was a lot of people were protesting because they want to stay in Manhattan.”
Nisha Howard, who works at Food Bazaar, told us that she has seen some of the migrants who are new to the neighborhood come into the supermarket to find out about job opportunities. One worker from Big Dawg Party Rentals, located nearby, said “What’s going on at the Cruise Terminal will definitely affect business but we’re just not sure in which way yet. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Carolina Salguera from PortSide NY mentioned this in some of her Facebook postings: “One group of six Venezuelans left after going inside the (Cruise Terminal facility) saying ‘we’ve been working and have things… we are trying to improve our lives and going from the Watson to this is not… so we’re going to the subway.’ Some of those six said they were already working and ‘how am I going to get to work from this place.’ Time will tell if many men coming from ‘the Watson’ will feel the same way. Men being moved here directly from the border may feel differently.”
She was referring to Manhattan’s Watson Hotel, which is where many of the refugees were transferred from.
Red Hook’s local politicos sent out a press release saying:
“Last night, dozens of asylum seekers destined for the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal relief center slept outside the Watson Hotel where they had been sheltering previously. Asylum seekers reported the center was freezing and had no blankets available.”
“We call on this administration to explore all available solutions, including heeding our call to work with community partners and local elected officials to help identify brick-and-mortar facilities to temporarily house asylum seekers. We are proud of how our communities have been stepping in and stepping up to fill in the gaps and provide the things our newest New Yorkers need. Since the beginning, we have and remain ready to work with the Mayor’s Office to welcome asylum seekers and ensure everyone can access dignified and safe shelter.”
On Jan. 31, James Neimeister, Avilés’ Communications and Organizing Manager added “I think a lot of this confusion could have been addressed if we had been in communication with the [mayor’s] administration before the announcement but now it’s playing out publicly. I understand that they’re responding to a crisis in real time but I think they just assumed everyone would go along with the announcement without working with us ahead of time.
“The real lesson is that this is what happens when you don’t do that work ahead of time. We’re left to figure it out publicly. The city should have a plan that’s rock solid and in order to do that you talk to your organizations and elected officials so you bring people in rather than leaving them boxed out.”
“From day one, our office has been assisting Red Hook Mutual Aid and organizing efforts to support community residents and asylum seekers,” State Senator Andrew Gounardes told us. “Our office has been in constant communication with and physically assisting community organizing efforts on the ground, as well as coordinating with other local representatives, and we intend to continue being as responsive as we possibly can to the needs of all impacted.”
