Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers have signed a "petition" urging the city's Mayor, Eric Adams, to halt the construction of a shelter for illegal immigrants on several soccer fields located on Randall's Island.
City residents who have backed the request — many of them parents — argue that the space is critical to the children's development and are calling on the mayor to find another location to house the undocumented:
This space is critical to maintaining irreplaceable opportunities for our children to achieve physical well-being in a city woefully short of safe and managed open spaces. There is no question that the city is facing a terrible crisis. That said, we strongly encourage the Mayor not to compound the problem by creating another that will have profound implications for children and families across the city. With respect to all those incredibly less fortunate, please find a new location that will uplift migrant families without denying parks and athletic fields to our children.
The Randall's Island shelter will be the size of four football fields and will be home to about 2,000 immigrants.
"NYC government must make responsible decisions"
Another petition created by the West Side Soccer League has already been signed by nearly 1,000 citizens. It calls on the Adams Administration to "make responsible decisions" and demands that they "immediately cease to consider these spaces as suitable places for temporary shelters":
We urge Mayor Eric Adams and his representatives to immediately stop considering these spaces as suitable locations for temporary shelters and allow long-standing youth organizations in New York City to continue to deliver vital services to our communities.
The soccer league argues that due to the construction of the shelter, some sports organizations will be forced to cancel their events and ask the mayor not to seek solutions to the illegal crisis at the expense of "the youth" of the city:
We rely on fields and facilities operated by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Without access to these fields, youth sport organizations will be unable to offer programming, leaving a devastating hole in the lives of tens of thousands of children and teens.
We understand the City is dealing with an unprecedented number of arrivals and that it is struggling to meet the needs of these individuals. However, it simply cannot be at the expense of our youth. NYC government must make responsible decisions (...) By taking away field space from these programs, the city is depriving its children, youth, and parents from healthy physical activities that promote community and a healthy lifestyle.
According to a New York Post source, the city's taxpayers will be the ones footing the bill for the $20 million that the shelter will cost.
