Converging crises set locals against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) over plans to repurpose a vacant luxury apartment building.
(Video: CBS New York)
Socialism struck a sour chord in Harlem as community members turned out against Hizzoner after learning a local apartment building was meant to be the latest landing spot for illegal aliens.
“We were trying to find out what was going on, and we weren’t getting any answers to our questions,” area resident Regina Smith told CBS News.
According to city records, the doorman-entry building with a rooftop pool on West 130th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. had been built in 2007. However, the 35 units had remained empty for roughly a decade after developers had defaulted on their loans.
During a community meeting Thursday night after locals had learned there was intent to house foreign nationals in the luxury building while the local homeless population was left out in the cold, Tiffany Fulton, executive director of Silent Voices United Inc., expressed, “No, I don’t agree with it, turning it into a sanctuary for asylum seekers knowing we have people right here that need the space.”
Adams attended the meeting where one resident was heard calling him out, “You are the mayor. We do not want to hear excuses.”
Hardly the first time that the Big Apple executive had been confronted over the placement of illegals throughout the city, having previously been lambasted for using schools as other shelters overflowed, he informed attendees there had been a change in course.
“I told the team, ‘Find out what’s going on here. We’re not moving folks into a brand new building when you have long-term needs into a community. That’s not gonna happen.'”
“You will not have migrants and asylum seekers in that property,” assured Adams.
A statement from the New York City Department of Social Service detailed, “Despite the developer’s initial plans for market rate condominiums, development had been stalled and this building left indefinitely empty — it would not have advanced as luxury housing. Instead of sitting vacant, this site will serve as high-quality transitional housing for long-term New York City families with children experiencing homelessness.”
“We will be working with an experienced not-for-profit provider to help these families stabilize their lives and ultimately move into permanent housing,” the statement continued. “As we have always done, we will continue to maintain open lines of communication and work closely with the community every step of the way to ensure that we are collaboratively working to provide critical services for our neighbors in need.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Socialists of America-supported NYC Council Member Shahana Hanif planned legislation to counter Adams’ stated limit of 30 days in shelters for aliens with indefinite sheltering on the taxpayers’ dime.
“This bill would prohibit any city agency from imposing limits on the length of time an individual or family may remain in a shelter or emergency congregate housing, provided such individual or family is eligible for temporary housing assistance under State law, as applicable,” the bill read, in part.
Still, with 44% of Harlem households reportedly rent-burdened, committing more than one-third of income to their rent, locals pushed back on the addition of homeless shelters as well.
“We have too many homeless shelters in this community,” said Smith. “We have a dearth of affordable housing we’re being priced out of the community…The lack of respect is absolutely appalling.”