Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso Calls on Real Estate Community, Suburbs, and Biden Administration to Step Up in Solving the Migrant Crisis in Wake of Weakening of Right-to-Shelter

BROOKLYN, NY – In response to the ongoing migrant crisis, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso issued the following statement:

“While Mayor Adams is doing the wrong thing in rolling back Right-to-Shelter, we must be careful to call even more loudly on those who are doing nothing at all: the real estate community that sits on thousands of vacant apartments while families sleep in the streets; our neighbors in the suburbs who hide behind racist zoning policies that prevent new affordable housing from being built; and the Biden administration that refuses to step up with meaningful aid despite immigration being a federal issue.

“In the problems that got us here lie the solutions that can pull us out. If the real estate community continues to resist voluntarily opening up vacant apartments for those experiencing homelessness, we need to explore legal action. If suburban leaders like Rockland County Executive Ed Day continue to call asylum-seekers rapist and criminals and threaten to ‘reach up and grab [Mayor Adams] by the throat for the people of Rockland County,’ we must name their racist hate and demand they do their part by offering shelter now and housing in the near future. And if the federal government continues to sit idly by, we will ensure every person in this city and state understands the blame for this situation lies with President Biden and his failure to lead on a comprehensive solution.

“Because when our neighbors – whether down the street, across the country, or over borders – need help, our community must and will show up. That’s what Brooklyn stands for, that’s what New York stands for, and that’s what we must demand this country to stand for. The imminent arrival of more people and families seeking asylum is no excuse to go back on our values here in New York City. Right-to-Shelter exists to defend the basic rights, dignity, and safety of people who are without a stable place to settle, and to roll it back – or even threaten as much – is not only cruel, but a tactic of intimidation we will not accept. Rather than abandon the humanity this city stands for, we must meet this national crisis with a national solution – a solution that the real estate community, New York suburbs, and federal government can no longer decline to be a part of.”

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