NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Dozens of Brooklynites rallied Thursday, voicing their frustrations about a migrant shelter in Clinton Hill that neighbors said is impacting their quality of life. They cited several concerns.
The migrant shelter at 47 Hall St. has become a focal point of contention for neighbors who said the influx of more than 3,200 asylum seekers living at the site is overwhelming the neighborhood.
Demonstrators at the rally highlighted a range of concerns, from excess trash to loitering and a surge of homelessness under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway among migrants forced to leave the site after their 30-day stay expired.
Despite their grievances, residents are not calling for the shelter to close but for the city to reduce the number of migrants housed there and allocate resources to improve conditions at the site and the surrounding area.
A spokesperson for City Hall said they understand the frustration. In a statement, the spokesperson told NewsNation affiliate WPIX in New York:
“While we agree that housing thousands of individuals in large sites is not ideal, as we have said repeatedly, we have been out of viable options for months now — especially as hundreds of additional migrants continue to arrive every single week asking for shelter.”
