Newsman: An emergency relief center on Randalls Island officially opens to asylum seekers Wednesday. It has everything city officials say a migrant may need after a long treacherous journey. There are almost 1,100 makeshift beds, but the HERRC will only take in half of that for now, so migrants will be spread out on every other cot, with the ability to scale up quickly if needed. And the HERRC is for single men only. As of now there aren’t enough single women arriving to open a HERRC, but the city will do so if needed according to city officials. But the relief centers are processing sites to get migrants where they want to go, not a permanent accommodation.
As of Sunday night 20,500 migrants have arrived in the city and 5,000 of them have been moved on to their final destinations of choice. City officials say to consider it an extension of Port Authority where busloads of migrants are arriving daily from Texas with zero coordination.
City officials say they’re working with the state to get bus service and that they have an evacuation plan for coastal storms. They say the structures can withstand 90mph winds and are heated to 70 degrees.
They say they’re not focused on a migrant’s length of stay, but the goal is to get them on their way within 96 hours.
The Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center, or HERRC, has couches, TVs, board games, phones with the ability to make international calls and a dining hall.
“Those meals are all culturally appropriate,” said Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. “It is South American fare. The menu rotates on a regular basis.” There’s also laundry service for asylum seekers along with showers and places to sleep.
Critics and immigration advocates argue the HERRCs are inhumane — built in flood prone areas and transit deserts.
