Brooklyn Muslim Center Hosts Dozens of Asylum Seekers, Hopes to Expand Capacity
The Muslim Community Center has been offering shelter and support to some 75 asylum seekers for the last nine months. But they have a bigger vision. "As a Muslim, it's an obligation upon us to help house migrants and people who are travelers and we decided to take that step," Soniya Ali, the center's executive director, told CNN.
The center is one of the faith-based organizations that have applied with New York City to house more migrants. The city has contracted with New York Disaster Interfaith Services, a faith-based charitable organization, to provide 950 beds for asylum seekers, according to a government official with knowledge of city's plan.
At the Muslim center, beds are arranged in an upstairs living space, along with a small kitchen, bathroom facilities, and a couple of couches. "We have 17 migrants that are staying with us. Each bed is their living space," Ali said.
Each of the 50 "Faith-Based Stabilization Shelters," will have 19 beds. The city plans to open 10 shelters on July 1st and then open 10 more shelters each month until November, with an option to extend the contract to open more shelters, according to an official.
However, centers like Ali's will have to comply with building codes to accommodate these large groups. "We're supposed to have carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors and fire extinguishers along with the sprinkler system," Ali told CNN.
Ali said she was inspired to start the shelter by her own experience as an immigant from Kashmir. She was only five when her family came to the United States.
"I can definitely understand what they are feeling when they talk about their families or children that they left behind or their wives or whomever they left behind because I do have family members that are back home that are not here," Ali said. "And you do feel that sense of longing so I understand that part of their journey and their situation."
"Help." That's the simple word that sums up what Senegalese migrant Mamadou Deiallo needs. He has been staying at the shelter since August. His story is a common one. Without a legal work authorization, he cannot find a job.
"This need for the city to help all immigrants," Deiallo told CNN.
Turning houses of worship into shelters is part of New York's efforts to find shelter space for its nearly 45,000 homeless migrants. Mayor Eric Adams said the city is overstretched and cannot keep up with the number of arriving migrants.
In the next few days, the city and state will work to open an emergency respite center for adult asylum seekers at the former Lincoln Correctional Facility, a City Hall spokesperson told CNN on Sunday.
They said there are no "cells" at the facility in Harlem. The site has been empty since it closed in 2019, the spokesperson said.
"We're grateful to the state for providing this site and partnering with the city to open this space as a temporary site for asylum seekers as New York City continues to face this humanitarian crisis," the spokesperson told CNN.
Source: abc7ny.com
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