New York City Migrant Shelters Face Closure or Renovation
'09.01.2026'
ForumDaily New York
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an emergency executive order requiring the city to develop a plan within 45 days to close or renovate emergency migrant shelters. Gothamist tells in more detail.
According to the document, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Homeless Services, together with the Department of Law, must prepare a plan by February 19. It is intended to bring the city's emergency shelters into compliance with city laws.
The rules in question regulate the maximum capacity of shelters, as well as the availability and requirements for kitchen facilities in family shelters.
Temporary suspension of regulations under the previous mayor
These requirements were previously suspended by a series of emergency executive orders signed by former Mayor Eric Adams, the first of which was in October 2022.
On the subject: Mamdani ordered citywide hearings on tenant rights violations
The measures were introduced to manage the sudden influx of tens of thousands of migrants into the city's shelter system.
Temporary and large shelters
To accommodate arriving migrants, the Adams administration created a network of temporary shelters. They were housed in hotels, large tent camps, and other temporary structures.
Some mega-shelter facilities housed thousands of people. However, many of these facilities later closed. The number of migrants entering the New York City shelter system and the country as a whole has declined since mid-2024.
Reaction of human rights organizations
The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless issued a joint statement calling the mayor's new decree "an encouraging step in the right direction."
The organizations noted that the city is no longer experiencing an influx of new arrivals "at the levels seen over the past three years." They argued that the crisis management model is no longer appropriate. It cannot replace a humane and long-term housing and resettlement strategy.
How many shelters are currently operating?
At the height of the migrant influx, the city operated 261 migrant shelters. By the end of December, the city continued to operate three emergency shelters outside the traditional shelter system run by the Department of Homeless Services.
About 200 more migrant shelters, mostly located in hotels, were integrated into the Department of Homeless Services' main system.
