Immigrants | 6sqft

17 NYC businesses that feel like old New York

The greenest block in Brooklyn is in Crown Heights again

Lower East Side's former Essex Street Market to become 99-unit rental

New York provides $7.25M for legal services for immigrant children facing removal proceedings

Photo credit: Office of Governor Kathy Hochul on Flickr

August 13, 2026

New York provides $7.25M for legal services for immigrant children facing removal proceedings

By Michelle Cohen

New York will fund legal services for approximately 1,400 unaccompanied immigrant children who are facing active removal proceedings, including the more than 250 young people who are currently detained, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday. The $7.25 million in funding will help vulnerable children access legal representation after the Trump administration allowed a nationwide federal contract providing legal services for over 24,000 unaccompanied migrant children to expire on July 31. The new state funding will ensure all children in active removal proceedings have access to representation.
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Policy

Photo via Wikimedia

August 22, 2023

Feds approve asylum seeker shelter at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field

By Aaron Ginsburg

Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field will be home to New York City's latest migrant shelter. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced a deal was reached for the federal government to provide New York State with a proposed lease of the former naval air station in Marine Park. The governor said the new Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Response Center (HERRC) will be able to house up to 2,000 single adult asylum seekers. While the governor initially requested that the federal government pick up the bill for constructing and staffing the shelter, the state agreed to cover the expenses, according to Gothamist.
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Policy

NYC looks to open two new tent shelters for migrants in Queens

The Randall’s Island tent shelter last October. Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

July 17, 2023

NYC looks to open two new tent shelters for migrants in Queens

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is looking to open two new tent shelters for migrants in Queens. According to The City, facilities will be constructed at the state-owned Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village and at the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park. Both sites, which have not officially been announced yet, are projected to house roughly 1,000 adults and could open within the next two to three weeks.
Details here

Policy

NYC to close Randall’s Island migrant shelter after a month

Image courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

November 11, 2022

NYC to close Randall’s Island migrant shelter after a month

By Aaron Ginsburg

Only a month after opening, the migrant shelter on Randall's Island will close, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday. The 84,400-square-foot facility, which was designed for adult men and held 500 beds and a recreation center, will be replaced by a new center in Midtown Manhattan, as first reported by City Limits. The Randall's Island facility is set to be shuttered next week, and current occupants of the facility will be provided with transportation to the Watson Hotel on West 57th Street, where 600 rooms will be used to house asylum seekers.
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Policy

Here’s how to help asylum seekers in NYC

Photo of the humanitarian emergency response and relief center for asylum seekers on Randall’s Island courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

October 19, 2022

Here’s how to help asylum seekers in NYC

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City is currently experiencing a migrant crisis, with thousands of asylum seekers arriving in the city to take refuge from danger and lack of opportunity in their home countries. On Wednesday, the city opened its first outdoor shelter for asylum seekers on Randall's Island, seen as a temporary rest stop before they reach their next destination. In addition to shelter, newly arrived migrants are in need of basic necessities and clothing, especially winter coats and warmer apparel. Ahead, find organizations and community centers across the city accepting donations for asylum seekers.
Here's where you can donate

Policy

People’s Theatre Project will run NYC’s first immigrant research and performing arts center

Photo by kathryn on Flickr

May 20, 2022

People’s Theatre Project will run NYC’s first immigrant research and performing arts center

By Aaron Ginsburg

The Upper Manhattan-based People's Theatre Project (PTP) will run the city's first research and arts center dedicated to immigrants and the immigrant experience in New York. On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams announced the selection of the PTP Company, an immigrant and women-led nonprofit, to own and manage the Immigrant Research and Performing Arts Center (IRPAC), which is expected to open in Inwood in 2027. The city will grant the company $15 million to put towards the creation of the new 17,000-square-foot center, which will be developed by LMXD, MSquared, and Taconic Partners.
Details here

Events & Things To Do

City seeks nonprofit to run NYC’s first cultural institution dedicated to immigrants

Inwood Hill Park, courtesy of Dana on Flickr

September 6, 2019

City seeks nonprofit to run NYC’s first cultural institution dedicated to immigrants

By Devin Gannon

The city is seeking proposals from nonprofits interested in running a new immigrant research center and performing arts center in Inwood. The city's Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) released a request for expressions of interest on Wednesday for a nonprofit organization to "design, construct, and operate" the Northern Manhattan Immigrant Research and Performing Arts Center (IRPAC). The neighborhood boasts a diverse community, with 49 percent foreign-born as well as the city's highest concentration of residents of Dominican descent.
More here

City updates housing lottery policy to ease process for immigrants and low-income New Yorkers

Via Creative Commons

August 21, 2019

City updates housing lottery policy to ease process for immigrants and low-income New Yorkers

By Devin Gannon

New Yorkers applying for affordable housing no longer need to provide credit scores or social security numbers, making it easier for low-income and undocumented immigrant households to qualify, the city announced Wednesday. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development expanded the guidelines of its affordable housing lottery policy to allow applicants to show 12 months of positive rental history instead of a credit check run by a landlord. This erases the need for adult household members to provide a social security number or an individual tax identification number.
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February 9, 2017

Mapping where undocumented immigrants live in America

By Dana Schulz

Of the estimated 11.1 million undocumented immigrants living across the U.S., 6.8 million or 61 percent live in just 20 metro areas, according to an analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey by the Pew Research Center. And as CityLab points out, this is an extremely high concentration considering just 36 percent of the country's total population lives in these areas. The highest population is, not surprisingly, right here in the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, with 1.15 unauthorized immigrants calling these cities home. We're followed by the Los Angeles area with 1 million residents, but after that it drops drastically to 575,000 immigrants in Houston.
Learn more here

City Living

Distinctive Homes

This $16.7M Cobble Hill home is like having your own private club in a Brooklyn brownstone

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An artist's mural in this $1.4M Hit Factory condo will remind you of its colorful past

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Asking $26M and $33M, a pair of Tribeca penthouses top a Ralph Walker Art Deco palace

A 70-foot brick smokestack anchors a private garden at this $2.1M Williamsburg loft

This $6.75M Gowanus compound combines a townhouse, gallery, garage, and lofts in one unusual property

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Map shows where New York City’s refugees have come from since 2002

Countries of origin for NYC’s refugees in 2002; map: DNAinfo

February 1, 2017

Map shows where New York City’s refugees have come from since 2002

By Michelle Cohen

In the years since the 9/11 terror attacks, somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000 people have sought refuge in New York City. Around 8,066 refugees have entered the United States through the city according to U.S. State Department Refugee Processing Center data. This week, President Donald Trump called for restrictions on entry to the U.S. for refugees and immigrants from the predominantly Muslim nations of Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Syria. A map of the world's nations, courtesy of DNAinfo, shows the 59 countries from which New York City's refugees have come each year since 2002.
Find out how many refugees have actually come to NYC from those countries

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