NYC universities should shelter migrants this summer, two congressmen say

Universities in New York City should prepare to shelter migrants this summer as more people are expected to arrive in New York City, two New York congressmen said.

In a letter Monday, House Democrats Jamaal Bowman, NY-16, and Dan Goldman, NY-10, called on administrators from the State University of New York, the City University of New York, New York University and a coalition of private universities in the city to find housing alternatives to city-run shelters and hotels that officials say are at capacity.

“During the summer, many of your institutions have empty dorm rooms, student apartments, and other potentially appropriate places for shelter that can serve as much needed temporary housing for migrants,” they wrote.

More than 60,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since last spring, officials have said. The city is using at least 140 emergency shelters and nine large-scale humanitarian relief centers. Over 41,000 asylum seekers are currently in the city’s care. City officials have projected the recent end of Title 42, a public health law invoked by the Trump administration to restrict migrants — including asylum seekers — during the pandemic, would increase the flow of people arriving in New York City.

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The city has converted the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan into an arrival center. There are reportedly plans to convert at least 20 city school gymnasiums into temporary housing.

Bowman and Goldman’s letter reiterates a recent point made by Gov. Kathy Hochul to look at state universities to house migrants.

At Hochul’s discretion, SUNY was assessing whether any university resources are available to help with the arrival of asylum seekers, SUNY spokesperson Holly Liapis said in an email.

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SUNY operates four campuses in New York City, including the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest told NBC 5 that members of Hochul’s administration had toured residential halls on Wednesday at the local SUNY to potentially house migrants. The Albany Times-Union reported SUNY officials recently visited campuses in Cobleskill and Albany.

At a press conference Monday in Brooklyn to push federal officials to expedite work authorization for asylum seekers, Hochul affirmed the housing proposal in response to a question about placing migrants in SUNY and CUNY dorms.

“The timing is very good because a lot of the students have left now for the summer,” she told reporters. “There are temporary dorms through August, but we are looking at the long-range situation — what happens in August?”

Eduardo Cuevas covers race and justice for the USA TODAY Network of New York. He can be reached at EMCuevas1@gannett.com and followed on Twitter @eduardomcuevas.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: NYC asylum seekers can shelter in universities says pols; Hochul agrees