Malliotakis, Local Officials & Park Police Call on Schumer to Pass Bill to Cancel Floyd Bennett Field Migrant Shelter Lease

(BROOKLYN, NY) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today joined a bipartisan group of local elected officials and the U.S. Park Police in calling on Senate Majority Leader Schuck Schumer to pass Malliotakis' bill that would retroactively cancel the migrant shelter lease agreement at Floyd Bennett Field.

In November, the House took bipartisan action to pass the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 5283), Malliotakis' bill that would not only cancel the Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter, but also prohibit federal funding from being used to provide housing for migrants on any land under the jurisdiction of the Federal Land Management agencies, including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service. Both Staten Island's Fort Wadsworth and Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field are included under this description, along with any other park in the Gateway National Recreation Area.

"Turning our federal parks into encampments for unvetted migrants from all over the world is unfair to surrounding communities and the taxpayers who are being forced to foot the bill while our Mayor bankrupts our city and slashes services from our citizens," Malliotakis said. "Earlier this month we saw this shelter evacuated due to inclement weather. Taxpayer resources were used to move thousands of migrants into a local high school, forcing students - who already lost years of in-person learning during the pandemic - to revert to virtual learning. Not only this, but surrounding neighborhoods have complained about litter, panhandling, and rising crime, including a fatal stabbing that occurred at a city-run migrant shelter. This crisis is unsustainable, unsafe, and not good for anyone involved, including the migrants themselves. The fact that Senator Schumer is ignoring the reality of what's happening here in his home city is outrageous. We're here to remind him how this crisis is destroying New York City and urge him to pass my bill along with our Border Security Act as swiftly as possible to end this crisis once and for all."

"The conditions at Floyd Bennett Field are absolutely unacceptable," said New York State Assemblywoman Jaime Williams. "We’ve said from day one that this was not a suitable site to house people, and now New York’s taxpayers are being forced to foot an ever growing bill to cover the government’s mistakes. As a result of the city, state, and federal governments completely ignoring what we as local officials had to say, we are now seeing costs balloon into the hundreds of millions of dollars. We are seeing our children being forced out of the classroom because of completely foreseen emergency evacuations. We are seeing the quality of life in surrounding communities decline as panhandlers from these tents go door-to-door seeking a handout. None of this should have ever been allowed to happen, and the government needs to shut this complex down before the situation gets even worse than it already is."

"Floyd Bennett Field is not a suitable location to house anybody. We've said this from the start, and the emergency evacuation earlier this month proved it," Councilwoman Joann Ariola said. "This is a national park, not a residential neighborhood. These tents need to be removed immediately, so that the area can revert back to its intended use as a green space for the people of Brooklyn and Queens to enjoy. Every day this migrant base camp remains in place is another day the government turns its back on the people of the outer boroughs."

"Our U.S. Park Police officers who serve in the New York Field Office have described the environment at Floyd Bennett Field as 'chaotic, 'unpredictable,' and 'disturbing'," said Ken Spencer, Chairman of the U.S. Park Police Fraternal Order of Police. "Law enforcement staffing levels cannot support such a massive and temperamental environment, leaving the public, our officers, and the migrants themselves at undue risk. Making matters worse, the warmer months ahead will lead to an entirely new set of challenges as the migrants will feel less tethered to the housing facilities."

Malliotakis has also joined a Williams and Ariola lawsuit to block New York City from using Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field or any park in the Gateway National Recreation Area to house migrants. The lawsuit was filed in Staten Island Supreme Court along with eleven other members of the City Council and State Assembly and 24 Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island residents.