Transcript: Mayor Adams Marks Closure of NYC Asylum Arrival Center, Recognizes City's Historic Accomplishments In Response To International Humanitarian Crisis

July 2, 2025

Mayor Eric Adams: I cannot say enough about this amazing team that’s standing behind me. What they were able to accomplish in a short period of time. History is going to be kind to them. And how they provided service and a humane way in spite of politics. They stood up, and I just want to personally thank them for what they have done from the hours and hours of calls. Watching Molly navigate the opening of sites over and over again. 

Watching deputy mayor, at the time, Williams-Isom, who spent countless number of hours navigating this complexity. And my chief of staff, Camille Joseph Varlack, probably the best crisis management person this city has ever seen. And then the personal aspects of this, traveling with Commissioner Castro to Puebla, Ecuador, Mexico, Columbia, standing in the Darién Gap, watching people taking that long journey here to America first, and then making their way to New York. 

And then, months previous to that he traveled with me down to the border in El Paso. We saw people sleeping in airports, on street corners and in front of churches. And coming back here, and watching, with renewed energy and strength. And Molly [Park], over at DSS and her team. And Dr. Ted [Long], the ever-present optimist, each morning we used to get tired of him smiling all the darn time, when we’re going through all this. But he never made us believe we could not do this. This was a difficult difficult task. 

This is forever going to be a symbol of the resiliency of this city. And how you could do things in the right way. Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar— many people don't report this over and over again. We were criticized, there were so many reports that we were inhumane to immigrants. We reached an international level. And national immigrant leaders, we asked them to come to the city and they said “No, your mayor is anti-immigrant.” And we said, “You need to come and see.”

And they came here, spent the day, we took them around, and they saw what we were doing, and how we handled 40,000 children, now 50,000 children. That came through our system, 4,000 people at one time a week. They saw what we were doing with temporary protective status and how we lobby Washington, D.C. to increase the numbers. They saw how we fed, housed, and clothed people with dignity. 

They saw a mayor that spent the night in the HERRC and talking to the residents, the coldest day of the year. And at the end of the night, they went to Gracie Mansion and sat down and had dinner with me. And they said, “We owe you an apology. No one in the country is doing what you and your administration are doing. And we're going to go back to our cities of Chicago and border towns, and we're going to tell the entire country the work that New Yorkers are doing.”

And they wrote a letter to Washington, D.C. and said, “New York should be the model of what the country needs to do.” That's what we did. And so the present day may not be kind, but history will be kind. Because these people standing behind me, they did their job and they went beyond the call of duty. 

Yes, these are clean floors now, and it’s quiet, but over there was the health intake center. There were rows of chairs that were sitting here that people were afraid, uncertain if they were going to be shoved away like others did throughout the country. 

Back there was a place you would go to get food, line up with children. Parents were anticipating the first days in school. This is going to be one of the most important chapters in our books. 237,000 migrants and asylum seekers went through our system. The Roosevelt Hotel was a symbol of that. We established the Asylum Seeker Arrival Center and Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center in May of 2023. 

It's easy to forget what it looked like during those times, because we're a few years away from that. And when it opened during the height of the international asylum seeker crisis, we were stopping buses. I remember Commissioner Castro, you and I, seeing the first bus at the Port Authority, and watching the buses coming on, looking at the faces of people, and seeing that the mayor of the City of New York was there. 

We tripled our shelter capacity in under two years. It took 45 years to build our shelter system. We had to do it in two years, standing up a vaccine program that provided over 200,000 life-saving vaccinations. And providing schooling for 50,000 students. Amidst an international shortage of immigration lawyers, we created a first in the nation Asylum Application Help Center and helped over 111,000 people apply for work authorization, temporary protective status, and asylum. 

One day, one of those people we help is going to be standing at a podium like this, and they're going to talk about that journey. We stayed focused, and we helped over 84 percent of the people who came in our care take the next step on their journey. And now, in addition to closing this location, we have closed 62 other locations, migrant shelters, in just a year. 

And the average number of arrivals dropped from the 4,000 peak to, now, 100 per week today. And as we take this final step, we can look back and say, job well done. Job well done, and I could not have done it without our employees, the staffers, and leaders that are behind me. No one did it better than Molly. She lived this entire adventure. And we thank her as a New Yorker, and we thank this entire team. And I want to turn it over to Director Molly Schaeffer to say a few words.

Director Molly Schaeffer, Mayor’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations: Thank you, Mayor Adams. It's a pleasure to be here to celebrate this milestone. The arrival center came to symbolize an extraordinary chapter in the history of New York City. A chapter where New York City was, more than any other city, asked to meet an unprecedented moment and do what we do best, find a way. The city never had the ability to control the number of people coming into New York City, but what we could control is how we treated them once they got here. 

And this response included the combined work of thousands of New Yorkers in government, dedicating thousands of hours to ensure the safety and security of our newest New Yorkers. And thousands more everyday New Yorkers who poured the best of themselves into welcoming our new neighbors with compassion and often great enthusiasm. It feels almost surreal listening to Mayor Adams reference the numbers and the impact of what we did as a city and what we accomplished here at the arrival center. 

But if I may, I want to add one more number to this to humanize this event today. More than a thousand children have been born while their families stayed in just half of our facilities. The work that this city did to support so many thousands of families was amazing and we're proud of the part that we played. There are too many people to mention who were part of this response, but I would like to recognize our partners who joined us here today to mark this milestone. 

Firstly, thank you to chief of staff and Deputy Mayor Camille Joseph Varlack, whose steady leadership and guidance ensured we all stayed focused on our mission. Thank you to Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Suzanne Miles-Gustave, who jumped in and supported this effort. And thank you to former Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom for keeping us grounded in the humanity of the clients that we served every day. 

Thank you to Commissioner Molly Park, who has been focused on supporting these new arrivals with the same gusto as traditional unhoused New Yorkers. Thank you to Commissioner Manny Castro, who has always been on the scene to welcome migrants from the day buses arrived. Thank you to Dr. Ted Long at Health and Hospitals, who ran both this site and ensured that we all remember that healthcare is a human right. 

And thank you to Commissioner Zach Iscol and NYCEM's first Deputy Commissioner Christina Farrell and their team who always answered the call on the hairiest days. And finally, thank you to Chancellor [Aviles-Ramos] for enrolling over 50,000 students and setting them up for success. And then finally, thank you to my entire team for their tireless service to this effort.

Mayor Adams: I want to, just before we depart, got to bring up both the former deputy mayor, who was really overseeing this, and my amazing chief of staff. What they did just was amazing. And I told them back then, and I hope we did it, that we need to document this because history needs to see what happened. 

There were a whole lot of people on the sideline, they never got on the field. Saving lives is a contact physical sport that you can't sit in the bleachers and talk about what should have been done. You need to roll up your sleeves and get in the game. They got in the game. So I'm going to hand it over to the chief of staff, and then our former deputy mayor.

Deputy Mayor Camille Joseph Varlack, Administration: Thank you, mayor. When I knew that we were going to be closing the Roosevelt today, I knew that it was time, sort of, for a reunion. And this team, when we tell you, and we have told you over the months and years that we have been in this place, that this was a once in a generation opportunity for us to show up for New Yorkers, both our traditional New Yorkers and our newest New Yorkers. And we couldn't have done it without each other. 

When you come into government, you hope that you will accomplish just one good thing, just one. And I am proud to say that in my time in this administration, we showed up for hundreds of thousands of people and children who will likely be the next leaders in our country and in the world. And we did it with humanity and grace. And we could not have done it without the leadership, the steadfast encouragement of Mayor Adams, who led from the front on this issue. So thank you.

Anne Williams-Isom: I wasn't supposed to speak, but this is what I'm going to say. Both of our mothers were born in Trinidad and Tobago. So to some degree, we have been built for this moment. I am getting ready to become a grandmother soon, and this will be the story that I will tell my granddaughter about how we helped people. 

Was it perfect? No. Did we do everything right? No. But we did it with the best that we had, with the care that we had, and I couldn't be more proud of the work that we've done and the people that I've done it with. So thank you very much.

Mayor Adams: And bringing up my brother, Manny so you can talk in Spanish. And this has been such a learning experience to see a Dreamer who came here with a mom. And now, God is good, now you're in charge of the dreams of others. History's going to be kind to you, brother. What you did and what you're doing is just amazing.

Commissioner Manuel Castro, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs: Appreciate it, man. Thank you so much. I wanted to share a few words today to especially thank Mayor Adams because when the buses began to arrive, Mayor Adams was there. No one asked him to go, no one said, you should go. He knew it was a very difficult moment, but he also understood it was important to send a message to our immigrant communities and to all those who would be responding to this humanitarian crisis. 

So I thank you, Mayor Adams, for being there from the beginning. And for allowing our team to respond the way we would be proud to respond to this humanitarian crisis. See, my team responded that first day the buses began to arrive. And we were at Port Authority, in a corner, off to the side, welcoming asylum seekers. Many of whom had crossed the Darién jungle and many borders and had arrived at the border and had not received the support and care that any human being deserves to get. 

And they were sent to New York City without any coordination, without any support, and they arrived here to New York City. When I asked Mayor Adams to join me to welcome those buses, he did. And when a child, about five years old, stepped off the bus, I said to the mayor, I, myself, when I was five years old, I crossed the border with my mother. And we made, ourselves, our way up to New York City. And I wish there had been someone, there had been a city to welcome me like we are doing today. 

So I'm very proud for everything we have done. We spent ten months trying to figure out how to best welcome people, how to best support them, how to connect them to the resources that we have in New York City. And when we first opened this site, it felt, frankly, like a miracle. 

But you know, I knew deep down that no other team, no other mayor could have done this and what we have done, other than Mayor Eric Adams and this team here today. So I'm very proud of everything we've accomplished. And I always say this, millions of Americans in the future will look back at this site and at this team and will trace their immigration stories to this very moment. 

And I've said this over and over the last couple of months, there's an attempt to erase and undermine what we've accomplished, and we're here to set the record straight. And to make sure that the people that have responded to this crisis in such a way get the full credit that they deserve.

I want to thank Mayor Eric Adams, former Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom for all of your support. Of course, Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack, Director Molly Schaeffer, Dr. Ted Long, and current Deputy Mayor Suzanne Gustave-Miles for all their support. 

Lo último que tengo que decir es gracias a todo los Neoyorquinos, todos los oficiales que nos apoyaron en esta trayectoria de apoyar a miles de personas que en el futuro, millones de generaciones de Americanos van a ver este punto y este espacio como el empiezo de las vidas de sus familias en este país y en esta ciudad.  

También, le quiero agradecer al alcalde Eric Adams por todo su apoyo en esta crisis humanitaria y por todo lo que hemos hecho juntos a través de los años. Es un orgullo como inmigrante, como un niño que cruzó la frontera con su madre a los cinco años, poder estar al frente de este trabajo. Así que, gracias y mucho mucho apreciación a todos los que colaboraron en este proyecto. Thank you so much.

Translation: The last thing I have to say is thank you to all New Yorkers, all the officials who supported us on this journey of helping thousands of people who, in the future, millions of generations of Americans will see this spot and this space as the beginning of their families' lives in this country and in this city.

I also want to thank Mayor Eric Adams for all his support during this humanitarian crisis and for everything we've done together over the years. As an immigrant, as a child who crossed the border with his mother at the age of five, I'm proud to be at the forefront of this work. So, thank you and much, much appreciation to everyone who collaborated on this project. Thank you so much.