New York City Mayor Eric Adams reported this Saturday that the centennial and iconic Roosevelt Hotel, named after former President Theodore Roosevelt and closed three years ago, it will be reopened to house immigrant families with children, who continue to come to the city.

It is also recorded in it luxury hotel on 45th Street in Manhattan, steps from Fifth Avenue and the famous Grand Central Station, the 9th Humanitarian Aid and Response Center and various services will also be offered, such as medical assistance, among others.

The mayor explained in a statement that the Roosevelt Hotel, which opened in 1924 and closed during the 2020 pandemic, will function as a centralized admission center for all asylum seekers and will also provide them with a range of legal, medical and reconnection services with families and friends, but also by placing them in a shelter.

Asylum seekers who arrive at the Port Authority or at the airport by bus are directed to this new arrival centre.

Immigrants already in shelters can also go to Roosevelt to receive various services.

Spaces for families with children

Starting this week, the 19-story, 1,000-room hotel, which adds to the 120 hotels the city has already contracted to house immigrants after overcrowding in public shelters, will have 175 rooms available for children and their families. expanded to 850 rooms.

Adams further explained that Between 100 and 150 rooms will be reserved for immigrants who will continue their journey to other states.

The wave of immigrants to the city is expected to increase following the end of Title 42 that came into effect during the pandemic, which allowed the deportation for health reasons of immigrants who crossed the border without documents.

Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, speaks during an immigrant rights demonstration at City Hall on May 11, 2023 in New York City. Photo: — MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO

New York has received more than 65,000 immigrants since last August and more than 30,000 are in shelters that also receive food and various services, sparking a humanitarian and economic crisis.

Buses from Texas

Two buses arrived on Friday and three more arrived today, all sent by Texas Republican Governor Greg Abott, who has been sending undocumented immigrants to immigrant refuges since last year.

“We continue to ask our federal and state partners for a real decompression strategy and hope to open and operate temporary shelters across the state and country as the city reaches capacity,” the Democratic mayor reiterated.

Adams has also started sending immigrants to hotels outside the city.which has led to a legal dispute because the municipalities refuse to receive them.

The city has had to open more than 140 emergency shelters and eight humanitarian aid centers. to which the Roosevelt Hotel will be added. Adams has applied for federal financial assistance, which has so far been unsuccessful.

Owned by Pakistan International Airlines, The Roosevelt has an Italianate Renaissance-style façade and interiors that resemble historic American buildings.