Massena officials in the dark about reports of town airport eyed for migrant housing

Aug. 30—MASSENA — New York City Mayor Eric L. Adams has contemplated using Massena International Airport as a potential destination for asylum seekers. Town officials have been caught off guard by the news and say they have no information and haven't been consulted by state or federal officials.

Adams's proposal stands in stark contrast to Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul's assertion that asylum seekers should stay exclusively within New York City's five boroughs.

The news of this idea to relocate migrants from NYC to Massena surfaced on Tuesday night when CBS News disclosed that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had furnished Adams with a list of 11 possible sites for accommodating asylum seekers.

Adams contends that the city can no longer handle the influx of migrants within its own boundaries. "New York City has run out of room. We are going to use any space that's available to take the pressure off New York City residents," he said.

Massena Deputy Town Supervisor Patrick M. Facteau expressed astonishment at the town airport being considered as a potential site. He said local officials have not been consulted and he knows nothing other than the vague information coming from national and local press reports.

"We're as much in the dark as anyone else," Facteau said late Wednesday afternoon. "Nobody's really communicated with us at all ... I think the county's in the dark, I think everybody's in the dark about what's going to happen to these people and what the story is."

Massena International Airport is a small facility. It has a terminal and several small hangars that store aircraft. It would not be possible to erect tents or other types of housing structures on the land within the airport fencing.

"You can't because (aircraft) wouldn't be able to land," Facteau said.

"Until we have some more concrete answers, I don't really have anything I can really say about it," the deputy supervisor said. "I'm waiting to see what's reality and what's coming and how it's coming and how many (migrants), even if it's none."

Adams has been actively lobbying federal officials for aid as record numbers of migrants flood into the city, but he has yet to receive federal assistance. Mayorkas recently sent Adams a letter criticizing the mayor for "structural and operational issues" in managing the migrant crisis in New York City.

Hochul has also voiced her stance, attempting to reassure upstate lawmakers that they won't be compelled to house migrants unless they voluntarily offer support. This stance contradicts Adams' position, who believes that New York City cannot handle the influx of more than 100,000 migrants in the past 16 months.

"Any plan that states that all migrants must stay in New York City, that's a failed plan. Any plan that does not include stopping the flow at the border is a failed plan," Adams said.

The key question for Adams is how federal and state officials can halt the influx of migrants into New York. His collaboration with Homeland Security appears to be setting the stage for a conflict with Hochul, who recently suggested that migrants should be housed exclusively in the five boroughs of New York City.

"We cannot and will not force other parts of our state to shelter migrants," Hochul said.

CBS News reports that Homeland Security is considering other sites, including Camp Smith in Westchester, Stewart Airport in New Windsor, three sites in Schenectady, Massena International Airport, the Army Reserve Center on Staten Island and an IRS building in Long Island City. The Marine Corps Reserve Center at Floyd Bennett Field is also being considered, although officials had previously deemed it unsuitable.

This is the second time Massena has faced scrutiny from state officials and city lawmakers, following a proposal by a New York City businessman to use the Quality Inn hotel to house nearly 180 migrants, which local officials have deemed unfeasible.

"Massena doesn't have the infrastructure to take care of these people either. How are you going to take care of these peoples' health care issues and needs?" Facteau said.

Later on Wednesday afternoon, state Sen. Daniel G. Stec, R-Queensbury, and U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, each released statements saying they're opposed to the idea of using the Massena airport for migrant housing. Neither statement contained new details.

Stec said he supports all St. Lawrence County legislators who are against the idea of using the airport for migrant housing.

"Governor Hochul and New York City Mayor Adams declared New York a 'sanctuary city,' and now that it's time to follow through on that statement, are looking to pass this crisis onto North Country communities that lack the infrastructure and funding necessary to manage it," he said in a statement. "I join county legislators from both parties in opposing the use of Massena International Airport or any location in St. Lawrence County as housing for illegal immigrants. Instead of looking to force the North Country to bear the brunt of the immigration crisis, state and New York City officials must solve the problem they created in welcoming hundreds of thousands of undocumented individuals into the city. And the Biden administration must finally work with Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform."

Stefanik blamed what she hyperbolically characterized as the "Far Left" and what she described as its open border policies.

"I proudly stand with the bipartisan coalition of local elected officials and the hardworking residents of St. Lawrence County who oppose using Massena International Airport as a site to house illegal immigrants. Upstate New York and the North Country is (sic) not a 'Sanctuary City.' We should not have to bear the cost of Joe Biden, Kathy Hochul, and Eric Adams' Far Left open border policies and the havoc they are causing. I will continue to work with this bipartisan coalition of local officials to ensure our communities remain safe and that Massena International Airport is not used as a site to house illegal immigrants. Once again, I call on President Biden to end his radical open border policies and secure our Northern and Southern Borders."

Massena Mayor Gregory M. Paquin has previously emphasized that the village lacks the resources to assist both migrants and residents. Additionally, he highlighted legal barriers, as housing migrants in Massena would violate local code by categorizing the Quality Inn hotel, for instance, as a boarding house, which is prohibited under village code unless overridden by the state.