Hochul activating National Guard to help Adams run NYC’s migrant tent city

Gov. Kathy Hochul is poised to send in the National Guard to help run the controversial tent city for migrants planned by Mayor Eric Adams that has now been moved, The Post has learned.

A unit of 100 reservists has been mobilized for deployment and the soldiers “are ready to assist” at Adams’ request, according to the governor’s office.

“The National Guard will provide logistical and operational support to the city’s relief center once it is ready to open,” Hochul spokesman Avi Small said Tuesday.

The reservists recruited for the assignment were selected in part based on their ability to speak Spanish, a source close to the National Guard said.

Also Tuesday, a community leader in the Bronx — where the tent city was initially planned — publicly called for the National Guard to instead be used to move migrants out of the city.

In an op-ed published by the Bronx Times, Bernadette Ferrara, a member of Community Board 11 and president of the Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance, cited the recent relocation of migrants flown to the liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling up 100 New York National Guard members to assist with “logistical and operational support” at the migrant center.

Migrants arrive at the Port Authority bus terminal on Sept. 27, 2022.
Migrants arrive at the Port Authority bus terminal on Sept. 27, 2022.

An influx of migrants have cause overcrowding issues in city shelters.
An influx of migrants have cause overcrowding issues in city shelters.

Migrant families receive clothing donations at Living Word Christian Fellowship in Ozone Park, Queens.
Migrant families receive clothing donations at Living Word Christian Fellowship in Ozone Park, Queens.

“Our elected officials must demand that Gov. Kathy Hochul call in the National Guard to move these illegal border crossers to a military facility elsewhere in the state — just like the governor of Massachusetts did for Martha’s Vineyard,” Ferrara wrote.

Ferrara specifically named US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who represents the Bronx and Queens, US Rep. Richie Torres (D-NY), who reps the Bronx, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and others.

Construction of the tent city began Sept. 24 in the Orchard Beach parking lot and it was expected to open later this week.

But that plan was abandoned Monday night, when Adams unexpectedly announced he was changing the location to Randall’s Island due to concerns about flooding at Orchard Beach.

Adams also slashed the size of the tent city — where migrants would be screened for admission to the Big Apple’s overburdened shelter system — from 1,000 cots to 500.

“We expect this site to open in approximately the same timeframe as the originally planned location, and we continue to build out our options and explore additional sites as we handle this humanitarian crisis created by human hands,” Adams said in a prepared statement Monday.

Last week, The Post exclusively reported that Adams was finalizing a deal with the Norwegian Cruise Line to temporarily house migrants at Staten Island’s Homeport and possibly strike a similar agreement with the Estonian shipping company Tallink.

During a city council committee hearing last week, Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said Hochul’s administration had committed to providing National Guard reservists “at least for the first 30 days” after the tent city opened.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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