South Bronx shelter plan sparks outrage as residents and officials push back

Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to open a 2,200-bed shelter for migrant men in the South Bronx is being met with massive resistance from residents and elected officials, including Rep. Ritchie Torres, who said the plan for 322 Bruckner Boulevard is “typical of the second-class treatment the Bronx has typically been given.”

Torres held a press conference Friday alongside Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Community Board 1 Chair Clarisa Alayeto to denounce the city’s plan for a new shelter in the Bronx. The announcement comes just weeks after the city revealed plans on Jan. 10 to close 13 shelters across Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Yonkers by June.

According to Adams, the closures are due to a steady decline in the migrant population in recent months. However, he emphasized the need for a new shelter in the Bronx, noting that no existing shelters in the borough are slated for closure.

But the announcement of a new shelter in the Bronx has generated a great deal of local pushback.

“The Bronx is underserved and overburdened,” Torres said. 

He said the new shelter should not be in the South Bronx, at least not without some kind of accompanying local investment. For instance, he called for permanent housing for the hundreds of residents displaced by a fire at 2910 Wallace Avenue whose hotel stays are expiring.

By the end of fiscal year 2025, the city will spend a total of nearly $10 billion on the migrant crisis, said Torres. In a Jan. 16 letter to Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul opposing the shelter, he said the city will spend $250,000 to $340,000 to retrofit the South Bronx building.

Torres also pointed to safety concerns with the massive shelter. The city plans to populate it with migrants relocated from the soon-to-close tent structure at Randall’s Island, which saw some instances of crime, including a July shooting that killed a 44-year-old woman. 

“Instead of reducing gang violence in the Bronx, the city is relocating gang violence in the Bronx,” said Torres. “When you concentrate 2,200 men in a single community, what do you think will happen?” 

The city’s plan is “profoundly destabilizing and disruptive to the Bronx,” he said. 

Gibson said she, like her constituents, was blindsided to learn about the shelter plans through the media and said she has since received little information from the mayor’s office. For instance, she said she is still unaware of which community organizations are slated to provide services at the shelter. 

Gibson said she asked City Hall to stop the contract. While she was unsure of its status with the building owner, “I think we still have time,” she said. 

The borough president said she doesn’t believe the shelter will be short-term as promised because “‘temporary’ in the eyes of government is usually three years.” 

“I don’t want this facility at all, not for three months or three years,” said Gibson. 

The shelter has come up against opposition from the 40th Precinct Community Council and Community Board 1. 

Alayeto, who chairs the board and is running for city council, said the South Bronx is not anti-migrant but “this is about our concern with the process.” 

The board’s Committee on Public and Supportive Housing is meeting with the public on Jan. 27 to discuss the shelter. Gibson, who is attending, said Deputy Mayors Anne Williams-Isom and Camille Joseph Varlack have been invited but have not yet confirmed attendance. 

“We want answers,” Gibson said. With the new shelter, “There should have been some giveback to the Bronx.”

Alayeto said residents’ voices must not be overlooked. “What’s happening here is not happening anywhere else.”

Shifting views

In the press conference, Torres acknowledged his views on immigration have shifted rightward given the “deeply destabilizing” situation in New York City over recent years. 

At the same time, he said he is also concerned that President Trump will overreach his authority in an effort to deport more immigrants. For instance, Torres said Trump’s executive order calling for an end to birthright citizenship is a “most outrageous abuse of power.”

Torres said state law should change to require community notification of new shelter plans, and while he supports right-to-shelter laws for New Yorkers, city resources cannot support unlimited immigrants from other countries, he said. 

Torres was one of 46 House Democrats who recently voted in favor of the Laken Riley Act, which enables immigration authorities to detain migrants who are accused and not yet convicted of theft crimes. Historically, those accused of violent crime or major drug offenses have been prioritized for detention. The bill passed with bipartisan support and is expected to vastly increase the number of migrants held in criminal detention — but at a steep price tag. Attorney General Letitia James was among those critical of the bill.  

Torres said most migrants do not pose a risk to public safety and should be protected. But for others, “Removals should be based on public safety risk.”

Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes