NYC to shut down last migrant hotel after shelling out $170 million to crime-ridden shelter
The Row NYC hotel, located on Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, will soon no longer be housing illegal border crossers. The hotel was repurposed in October 2022 to accommodate migrants as the city dealt with a migrant crisis. However, Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that the city’s $5.13 million-a-month contract with the hotel will not be renewed in April.
The hotel, owned by Boston-based real estate titan Rockpoint Group, has already earned over $170 million from the contract. It is unclear what the future holds for the establishment, as representatives for the company did not respond to messages.
Mayor Adams stated, “We are proud to share that we will be closing another site—the Row Hotel, the last hotel in the city’s emergency shelter system—marking yet another major milestone in our administration’s recovery from this international humanitarian crisis.”
The Row NYC was the first hotel enlisted by the city to take in migrants after Mayor Adams declared the existing homeless shelter system had reached a “breaking point.” Since then, the hotel has been plagued by criminal activities, including stabbings and attacks on police officers. Workers at the hotel have described it as a wild “free-for-all” of sex, drugs, and violence.
The migrant crisis has cost city taxpayers over $8 billion since the spring of 2022 to provide services to more than 238,000 migrants who entered the country due to lax border policies under former President Joe Biden.
Local residents and workers in the Times Square area have welcomed the news that migrants will soon be leaving the Row NYC. Some residents expressed relief at the prospect of the hotel no longer housing migrants, citing littering, loitering, and declining business in the neighborhood.
At its peak, New York City used 220 hotels and other contracted sites to house migrants. As of June 25, 2024, the city was operating 193 migrant shelters, with the Row NYC being the last remaining lodging establishment. The Department of Homeless Services has been slowly transitioning migrants into the city-run shelter system.
Mayor Adams commended the city’s efforts in managing the migrant crisis, stating that the administration has successfully helped over 200,000 migrants leave the shelter system and take steps toward self-sufficiency. The closure of the Row NYC marks a significant milestone in the city’s recovery from the crisis.
