Decision comes after some Trump supporters criticise use of taxpayers’ money to house asylum seekers
Foreign Desk
NEW YORK: New York City is ending its $220 million lease agreement with the PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel, which had been serving as a migrant shelter, following intense criticism from some of US President Donald Trump’s supporters over the use of American taxpayer money to house asylum seekers.
The iconic hotel in Manhattan was shut down in 2020 due to a severe loss of revenue resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Three years later, it’s management signed a lease contract with New York City which converted it into a shelter for a large number of asylum seekers in the United States.
Facing pressure from both the federal government and right-wing hardliners, Mayor Eric Adams announced the closure of the facility on Monday. Adams said the city will shut the Roosevelt Hotel in “the coming months.”
The announcement follows the closure or planned shutdown of 53 other migrant shelters, including a large tent facility on Randall’s Island, which is expected to shutter at the end of the month.
Mayor Adams credited the closure to the administration’s successful emergency response and policy decisions, stating that it will help the city save millions of taxpayer dollars.
“While we are not done caring for those who came into our care, today marks another milestone in demonstrating the immense progress we have achieved in turning the corner on the unprecedented international humanitarian effort,” Adams said in a video release.
The Roosevelt Hotel served as both the literal and symbolic centre of the city’s struggle to manage the influx of new arrivals under its right-to-shelter laws. It sits in a prime midtown Manhattan location, steps from Grand Central Terminal and some of the highest-priced office buildings on Park Avenue. It opened in 1924, was named after President Theodore Roosevelt.
