Hundreds of migrants who had just moved into a converted former jail in Manhattan were temporarily evacuated on Saturday after plumbing there “exploded,” officials and witnesses said.
Sometime in the afternoon, the plumbing problem was discovered at the closed Lincoln Correctional Facility in Harlem, which a city hall spokesman said only opened its doors to migrants on Thursday.
Turkish migrant Hussain Uzun told the Post that the pipes burst.
“This building sucks. “The pipes blew up,” he said outside the facility.
The migrants left the area temporarily and some were transferred to facilities outside the city, including 10 by bus to Albany, officials and sources said. A spokesman for the city hall said late Saturday: “The problem has been solved and all asylum seekers still on site can return inside.”
“The facility has always been accessible and while we worked to bring it back fully online, we offered all asylum seekers staying at this facility a waiting spot or alternative move location for tonight.”
Around 8 p.m. Saturday, a crowd of about 100 migrants still lined 110th Street in front of the old jail.
The former Lincoln Correctional Facility is being used as a “recreation center” for migrants.
In addition to the handful of migrants sent to Albany, another 18 have been taken to Saint Brigid’s – a former Catholic church in the East Village that has opened its doors to migrants, sources told the Post.
At around 8:20 p.m., security forces began to let the migrants back into the building.
“I don’t know what this building is. They bring us all here from the hotels and don’t answer any questions. We don’t know where we’re going from here.”
Uzun said his crowded floor held up to 15 men per room. He said shelters were overcrowded “because everyone is coming.”
Just two days ago, migrants began entering the prison.
The eight-story Lincoln Correctional Facility on West 110th Street in Manhattan opened Thursday for single adult males — meaning not families — and has room for about 500 people.
Migrant M. Reyes from Managua, Nicaragua said they announced the pipe burst around 11am
Since moving into the facility, he has also noticed that the living conditions are worse than in the previous accommodations.
“I’ve only had one day here and it’s not good,” said Reyes, who said he left his home country because he worked in government and it wasn’t safe.
“I think the other shelter I’ve stayed at is better,” he said.
Mayor Eric Adams estimates the refugee crisis will cost the city more than $4.3 billion by next spring, as the city government is so desperate in its struggle to accommodate newcomers that it has controversially begun adding busloads to motels and hotels elsewhere in the city to transport state.
In addition to the repurposed jail, Gov. Kathy Hochul said an airport hangar at JFK will be remodeled to create a large space to accommodate the flood of newcomers.
nypost.com
https://nypost.com/2023/06/03/migrants-temporarily-evacuated-from-repurposed-nyc-prison-due-to-plumbing-issue-city-hall/
