Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday night that the relief center for asylum seekers being built at Orchard Beach will no longer be located there.  

The plan is now to move the relief center to Randall’s Island. The mayor’s office cites their reason for this decision as being weather-related, saying that after this weekend’s storms, emergency management determined that relocating the centers to Randall’s Island is the ‘most efficient and effective path forward’.  

This comes as nearby residents vocalized their disagreement with housing asylum seekers at Orchard Beach, and advocates also claiming the conditions of the relief centers are inhumane.  

On Friday, Council Member Shahana Hanif was at a rally calling on the relief centers to meet shelter requirement. 

On Saturday, a protest from those opposed to the project took place, saying that the city shouldn’t have to house asylum seekers at all.  

The mayor provided the following statement on the hot-button topic: 

"New York City has, on its own, safely and efficiently provided shelter, health care, education, and a host of other services to more than 16,000 asylum seekers pursuing a better life over the last few months. As we now work to open the city's first Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center, safety for those seeking asylum remains our top priority." 

The city has not announced how they plan to move the centers from Orchard Beach to Randall’s Island, as the centers are nearly finished being built.