New York City high school students’ classes went remote Wednesday after nearly 2,000 migrants moved into their school building in Brooklyn following an evacuation from a tent shelter Tuesday to avoid a massive rainstorm.
The City of New York took the action, saying the tent complex constructed for migrants at Floyd Bennett Field would crumple from torrential rains and high winds, so the migrants were transferred to the gym at James Madison High School five miles away, The New York Post reported.
Residents and school staff were not pleased by the decision, and held a rally for the displaced students.
“They told us we had to get everything out by 5 [p.m.],” gym teacher Robyn Levy told the outlet outside the school. “They sent us the email at 6 in the morning. I don’t know when we’ll be able to go back.”
A local resident who identified himself only as Rob said, “This is f—-ed up.”
“It’s a litmus test,” he said. “They are using a storm, a legitimate situation, where they are testing this out. I guarantee you they’ll be here for the entire summer.”
School officials announced online Tuesday that classes would be held remotely Wednesday because of “the activation of James Madison High School as a temporary overnight respite center” for the migrants.
“To be clear, this relocation is a proactive measure being taken out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals working and living at the center,” said City Hall spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak.
Republican lawmakers in New York’s congressional delegation criticized the Biden administration and Mayor Eric Adams for allowing the displacement of the students for the migrants, while Democratic lawmakers defended the actions.
“The abject failures of the Biden and Adams administrations were on full display at James Madison High School yesterday,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler. “Thousands of migrants, willingly let into our country by President Biden, took over a high school, whose students were forced into remote learning by Mayor Adams.”
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez countered, “The primary responsibility here is the safety of anyone in that [tent] facility.”
In December, a powerful storm hit the 2,000-bed tent complex with 55 mph wind and rattled metal bolts and hinges loose from the ceiling.
City Hall officials said an evacuation plan was in place and ready to execute if necessary, but said no flooding was reported during the December storm.
House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman, Arkansas Republican, and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Paul Gosar, Arizona Republican, sent a follow-up letter to Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory, again requesting information on the migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field.
The administration has not complied with the committee’s oversight on this issue, Mr. Westerman and Mr. Gosar stated. They wrote in part, “The House Committee on Natural Resources is continuing to investigate the recent decision by the Biden administration to establish a migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field, a portion of Gateway National Recreation Area, on national park land.”
The letter continues, “As you know, on November 13, 2023, the Committee sent you a letter requesting information, documents, and records critical to our investigation. On November 13, 2023, staff for CEQ acknowledged receipt of the committee letter. However, the deadline for the requested information, documents, and records passed over five weeks ago, on November 30, 2023. To date, the Committee has yet to receive a response to our requests.”
The National Park Service signed an agreement to lease Floyd Bennett Field last September as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn, to hold a tent city housing up to 7,500 adult men, giving New York a site to place at least some of the enormous flow of migrants pouring into the city.
Government officials at the time indicated they did not have to go through the environmental process required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
The site also lacked the infrastructure to supply the camp with basic needs such as water. Additionally, the location, which juts into Jamaica Bay, was known to be a flood plain that gets inundated with water regularly, a state assemblywoman had told the House Natural Resources Committee.
“There’s no jobs there. There is no food there. There is nothing there,” said Assemblywoman Jamie R. Williams, a Democrat who represents the area, adding that she and her constituents were left out of all the conversations. “These decisions cannot be made at such a level where the local electeds read about it, hear about it, on the news.”
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this story.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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