The Randall’s Island emergency relief center for migrant men has only had a few visitors in the two days it’s been open, a slow start for a site that is meant to relieve pressure from the city’s struggling shelter system.

The site was built to temporarily house about 500 single men, but only a handful have arrived.

One lawmaker who visited the site said it’s too early to tell if the facility will reach full capacity and that the city is doing its best to respond to the migrant crisis.

What You Need To Know

  • City Councilmember Nantasha Williams, who visited Randall's Island on Thursday said it only had a handful of migrant men, way less than the 500 person capacity of the center

  • Randall's Island has only been open for two days

  • As of Thursday, more than 21,000 asylum seekers have gone through the city’s shelter system, with over 15,000 still in the system.

  • Thursday also marked the third day that there have been an average of two buses arriving at Port Authority, down from a high of nine buses a day

City officials said that the relief center cost around $325,000 to build and another $325,000 to move from the original location of Orchard Beach in The Bronx to its current home on Randall’s Island.

“To really conclusively say this is a colossal waste is difficult to say right now. I think we have to give just a little bit more time. I don’t think we need to give extensive time. But I think we need to give a little bit more time to see what the influx of migrants will be,” said Councilmember Nantasha Williams.

Williams said that she toured the site to see for herself the conditions migrants would live in on the island. She noted that the tents were “toasty” and that she even laid down on one of the cots which she said were relatively comfortable.

Meanwhile, at an unrelated press conference today Mayor Eric Adams suggested the White House’s recent immigration policy for Venezuelans is reducing the number of buses arriving from the southern border.

Adams said in the last few days only two buses have arrived at Port Authority, down from a high of an average of nine buses a day.

“After we communicated with the White House, they responded, they put in place a decompression strategy. I think today we received two buses, yesterday we received two buses. A substantial decrease,” said Adams.

City Hall officials also said that the buses that are arriving now have more families on board than single men.

As of Thursday, more than 21,000 asylum seekers have gone through the city’s shelter system, with over 15,000 still in the system.