‘Chaos emerging everywhere’: Williamsburg residents vent at McCarren Park migrant shelter
Some residents of trendy Williamsburg are crying foul over the dozens of migrants being sheltered in the recreation center at its popular McCarren Park — claiming the city’s asylum crisis has left “chaos emerging everywhere.”
The Brooklyn rec center warned residents on its Web site Monday that all programs in its south wing, including its media lab, are “canceled until further notice’’ because of migrant housing set up there three days ago.
About 55 male asylum-seekers who were previously housed in Queens were brought to the park’s popular Play Center, which has been repurposed with 100 military-style cots and baby supplies.
“I’m a Latina person. I don’t want to sound racist because you have to be really careful about what you say these days. But it’s not fair that these people are brought in in these conditions or that they’re brought in at all,” said Adriana Mesen, 41, a freelance graphic designer who walked to the park to get a first-hand look at the new shelter after hearing about it from a friend.
“We come to the park every day, we work out, it’s a safe space,” she said. “You don’t know who — I mean not everybody is dangerous, but somebody might be.”
“The city government is weird. It’s like they don’t care about the city,” she added. “You see trash everywhere, it’s like chaos emerging everywhere. It’s like they’re trying to bring in the chaos somehow.”
Mayor Eric Adams has warned New Yorkers that the city’s spiraling crisis was coming “to a neighborhood near you,” as existing shelters burst at the seam with more than 56,000 migrants.
Mesen said she is worried the number of newly arrived migrants in the park will only balloon.
“And these people are not occupied during the day, so they’re just hanging out,” Mesen said. “Nothing much positive can come from unoccupied people just hanging out not knowing what to do or where to go.
“It’s hard for them, but also I’m not sure this is the best place for them.”
Mesen acknowledged she was also conflicted about the issue, noting the city and country thrives on immigration.
“I don’t think the government should let them in first of all, but then you also think America was built by immigrants so how can you argue with that?” Mesen said.
Here's everything to know about the McCarren Park migrant shelter
New York City is housing over 50 adult asylum seekers in Brooklyn’s popular, family-friendly McCarren Park Play Center.
Mayor Eric Adams has warned New Yorkers that the city’s spiraling crisis was coming “to a neighborhood near you,” as existing shelters burst at the seam with more than 56,000 migrants.
The makeshift shelter only for adults, which is located on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, was set up with 100 military-style cots, toilets and showers.
Rooms inside the facility have been filled with rows of green cots covered in blue blankets. The wood-slat walls are still lined with butcher paper and photos of past events.
Asylum seekers are housed in the south wing of the McCarren Play Center, which has a basketball court and gym and also hosted an after-school arts program.
However, the Brooklyn rec center warned residents on that all programs in its south wing, including its media lab, are “canceled until further notice” because of migrant housing set up there.
A 30-year-old woman who had lived in the neighborhood for seven years said she thinks the city’s housing of migrants in the park shows a “policy deficit” and that the shelter was forcing a “community” child nutrition food-prep program to move to another site.
“I think it’s paramount that migrants are humanely housed. I also think it shows policy deficits that they’re having to take away rec center opportunities to do that,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous because she works with the government.
“I know they were working on things to expedite housing vouchers for more long-term homeless people and that would have freed up space and other things of that nature,” she said.
A park employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said that they had not heard of anyone complaining about the new park visitors.
The worker said the park’s large shallow pool was still accommodating throngs of visitors and giving away lunches, as does every New York City outdoor public pool.
Teriq, 54, an art student and shiatsu practitioner who has lived in the neighborhood for 34 years, was nonplussed by the scenario, too.
“I remember when this place used to be abandoned,” Teriq said of the facilities at McCarren Park, a blighted version of which was prominently featured in the 1983 film “Vigilante.
“It used to be closed off and you could worship Satan and drink. It’s very different now.” said Teriq, who declined to give his last name.
Teriq, who pays $50 every six months to use the park’s gym, said the park has not formally notified the members that the play center is taken over by the migrant shelter.
“They haven’t notified us yet. I was looking to see if they’re setting up something,” he said.
“I mean it’s a temporary solution. They’ve got to find a real solution in the long run” Teriq said of the migrant housing.
Teriq said he thinks city bureaucracy is what’s causing the migrant crisis.
“I think the biggest issue is bureaucracy and people are being paid to do nothing” he said, pointing to two things: empty affordable housing and the delay in work permits for migrants.
“They’re here, they need to work some kind of job,” he said.
The neighborhood’s elected leaders — all Democrats — issued a joint statement last week that indicated they believed the shelter was a necessary but temporary solution as migrants were forced to sleep on the streets of Midtown Manhattan as the Roosevelt Hotel welcoming center reached capacity.
A skateboarder who was on his way to the skatepark next to the migrant shelter Monday was unbothered by his new neighbors, who share the entrance to the new facility with the skater haven.
Bradley Crawford, 20, has lived in Williamsburg for three years, and skates at McCarren “every week.”
The skater had not been following the crisis, he admitted, and was unaware that more than 95,000 asylum seekers had arrived to the city from the southern US border since last spring.
“I’m about to go to the skatepark now” Crawford said.
