New York City Mayor Eric Adams has broken course to house migrants at a luxury condominium in Harlem amid community outrage, the New York Post reported.
Originally billed as a luxury condominium replete with an indoor swimming pool and marble bathrooms, the 35-unit building was destined to be filled with tenants paying premium rates, but developer foreclosure forced the project to shut down.
In short course, it was rebranded as a homeless shelter. However, amid the rising costs of rents in Harlem, which had forced longtime residents from their homes, backlash hit with a cry for why the building wasn't being used for affordable housing instead.
Adams responded on Thursday, telling CBS News, "I told the team, 'Find out what's going on here. We're not moving folks into a brand new building when you have long-term needs in a community. That's not gonna happen.'
"You will not," Adams declared, "have migrants and asylum seekers in that property."
Now the site will be used to serve the needs of long-time New York residents experiencing homelessness, a spokesperson from the city's Department of Social Services told CBS.
"Instead of sitting vacant, this site will serve as high-quality transitional housing for long-term New York City families with children experiencing homelessness," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We will be working with an experienced not-for-profit provider to help these families stabilize their lives and ultimately move into permanent housing."
During Thursday's meeting, temperatures ran high, with many residents voicing their outrage at the mayor and the city's original plan.
"You are the mayor," one Harlem resident said. "We do not want to hear excuses."
"We have a dearth of affordable housing," another Harlem resident, Regina Smith, said. "We're being priced out of the community ... The lack of respect is absolutely appalling."
Meanwhile, no set deadline has been reported for a move toward affordable community housing.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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