NYC migrant crisis: Influx of children straining schools, report says
NEW YORK CITY - New York City’s shelters continue to be overwhelmed by the influx of migrants coming into the Big Apple.
With the city receiving over 70,000 migrants since last year, it has created a strain across city services, including schools, a report says.
According to the New York Post, some parents at P.S. 145 on the Upper West Side are concerned about overcrowding.
With schools opening their doors to migrant children, it has reportedly created little to no space for the students to use science equipment and music instruments.
One parent told FOX 5 NY she is not sure if the increase of students at her children’s school has to do with the influx of asylum seekers, but she does hope the city is properly funding public schools to meet the demand.
The latest news comes after Mayor Eric Adams spoke out last week as the city began court proceedings to suspend New York City's "right to shelter law".
"The message has been clear," Adams said. "New York has done its share, and we want to go in court and have clarity. That's what we are asking for."
- RELATED: Citing migrant influx, New York mayor asks court to suspend long-standing ‘right to shelter’
- RELATED: NYC migrant crisis: 3 more buses arrive as city struggles to house families
In a letter to a judge, the city asked to weaken a more than 40-year-old court ruling that mandates New York City provide shelter to anyone who requests it. The city is citing the overwhelming influx of migrants.
"No mayor in the history of New York had to deal with the number of people in our shelter system like me," Adams said.
Many advocates and city council members are firing back against the mayor’s action, saying "right to shelter law" is what has kept homeless New Yorkers off the streets.
NYC migrant crisis: 3 more buses arrive as city struggles to house families
According to Mayor Eric Adams, more than 70,000 migrants have arrived in the Big Apple over recent months, and 42,000 are still under city care.
"I'm shaken up by the announcement about rolling back all of the efforts that many people here have made to get us to where we are today," council member Jennifer Gutierrez said. "The right to shelter is a simple language that says we no one should have to be in the streets. We are raising the bar of what it means to be housed and be a compassionate city."
The city has tried to transfer asylum seekers to neighboring counties to help cope with the influx, but the move was met with intense pushback.