A community meeting in Brooklyn devolved into a shouting match when concerned residents from several family-friendly neighborhoods expressed their extreme dissatisfaction with their councilmember over a huge migrant shelter in the area.
City councilmember Crystal Hudson was met with ire from her constituents as she attempted to speak at the community meeting on Monday night.
Residents in the family-oriented neighborhood of Clinton Hill remain uneasy about the migrant shelter that opened last summer right next to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The shelter currently accommodates more than 3,000 single men who crossed the southern border illegally before being transported to New York City.
Residents fear the massive shelter puts their children and the area in danger.
Councilwoman Crystal Hudson (center) – who had City Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander by her side – spoke with angry Brooklyn residents
The Clinton Hill residents are irate about the migrant shelter in the Brooklyn Navy Yard that they feel is endangering their children
Hudson did not help her case when she stood up in the middle of the meeting to announce a stabbing had occurred earlier in the day right by the shelter.
‘There was an incident earlier today – it’s not the first incident, I hope it will be the last – there was a stabbing that was at the park,’ said Hudson.
The victim was reportedly treated at the scene. It is not clear whether any migrants were involved in the stabbing.
But Hudson’s comments nonetheless further ignited intense frustration among the crowd at the Boys and Girls Navy Yard Clubhouse.
The news prompted several already angered constituents to stand up and begin shouting.
‘You are avoiding the issue,’ said one man into a microphone, speaking about the shelter. ‘Is there a universe where the city can safely house 3,200 single men together?’
‘It can’t!’ shouted some people in the crowd in response.
‘It is unsafe! It is unsafe!’ cried others.
Last week, a young male migrant was stabbed when a fight broke out outside the shelter.
During the meeting, Hudson – who had City Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander by her side – encouraged angry attendees to save their wrath for City Hall.
She went on to blame the mayor for a lack of support in dealing with the migrant crisis.
‘We have literally said exactly what you just said … I understand the frustration. I get it … But my office has done everything we can,’ she said, according to local reporter Arya Sundaram.
The makeshift migrant shelter next to the Brooklyn Navy Yard currently houses more than 3,000 single male migrants
Hudson (right) with New York Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
Hudson attempted to tell her constituents to take their frustration out on the NYC mayor’s office, which she says has offered inadequate support on the migrant question
Mayor Eric Adams, who has previously expressed frustration at the city’s lack of resources and legal ability to stem the flow of tens of thousands of migrants sent to NYC – a sanctuary city – from the border.
Alejandro Gonzalez, a spokesperson for Councilwoman Hudson, said in a statement to the New York Post that her office confirmed its commitment to ‘caring for’ undocumented migrants.
‘We’ve seen people come together to routinely provide material support for migrants. However, individual generosity doesn’t preclude the government’s need to steer collective action, and so far the mayor’s office has failed in that regard,’ he also said.
‘There is a need for the city to provide additional resources to address the emerging challenges facing new and longtime residents alike as well as sharing a vision for a long-term strategy that we can all work toward across the five boroughs.’
