FAA approves JFK building as emergency shelter for migrants

Publish date: 2024-07-27

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The Federal Aviation Administration has signed off on Port Authority plans to open an emergency shelter for arriving migrants in an old postal warehouse at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the agency said Monday.

The facility was identified by local and state officials scouring the Big Apple and its suburbs for new places to house the recent arrivals from the southern border a year into a crisis, which has seen more than 70,000 people arrive from South and Central America into the five boroughs and stretched the city’s scandal-scarred shelter system to the limit.

“The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey asked if an old postal warehouse near JFK Airport could be used for non-aviation purposes,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA found that the Port Authority had adequate security and safety plans in place.”

The Port Authority confirmed in a statement that “progress” had been made.

The FAA has signed off on converting an old postal warehouse into a migrant shelter. WABC
More than 70,000 migrants have arrived in NYC. Paul Martinka
Migrants arrive at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, Monday, May 15. Robert Mecea

“The Port Authority and the city made progress this weekend on a plan to use Building 197 at JFK as a short-term shelter for asylum seekers, which everyone is working to finalize as soon as possible,” said a spokesman. “In the meantime, we will continue to work collaboratively with the city and the state on this project.”

A spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul told The Post that it’s now up to City Hall and the authority to “finalize” the plan that is slated to host up to 500 migrants.

“Now that the FAA has authorized this plan, the Port Authority is working closely with the City to finalize an agreement as soon as possible,” said Hochul spokesman Avi Small.

The governor has also said her office is examining using SUNY dormitories to provide emergency shelter over the summer when classes aren’t in session.

City officials say more than 45,000 migrants are in the care of the Department of Homeless Services, which has opened 160 emergency shelters and intake facilities to provide temporary housing and care since May 2022.

Migrants arrive at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, NY on May 23. James Messerschmidt
160 emergency shelters and intake facilities have opened since May 2022. James Messerschmidt

The price tag for the operation is estimated to be more than $4.3 billion in 2023 and 2024, a sum the Adams administration has warned may force it to make cuts to other city services.

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