UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) — A local organization that’s been working on the frontlines of the migrant crisis gave back in a big way Wednesday, by handing out winter coats and other essentials to help migrants brave the bitter cold.
Organizers with the non-profit Project Rousseau tell PIX11 News they started doing clothing drives last year after seeing the influx of migrants who were in need. With temperatures now dropping, organizers said they wanted to make sure migrants had what they need to stay warm.
“Folks have really urgent needs pertaining to the winter,” said Andrew Heinrich, Executive Director of Project Rousseau. “It’s getting very, very cold outside and folks are worried, especially about their children, and so to have jackets and everything else that they need is really important for their safety and well-being.”
A line of migrants stretched outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art hoping to collect essential items like toiletries, coats, and winter clothing. Julianna Lopez came to the U.S. a year ago with her daughter, fleeing danger and economic turmoil in Colombia, hoping for a better life.
“Very complicated situations which put at risk my life and my daughter’s life so, I had no other option than to flee my country.”
She and hundreds of other asylum seekers, who traveled to New York with nothing, came out to the second annual Community Day hosted by the non-profit.
“It’s very important because one as a migrant doesn’t get any documentation so it’s very difficult to work, and so that leads to a very difficult lifestyle here in New York City,” Lopez said.
The drive happened as the city issued a code blue weather emergency Tuesday night due to temperatures dropping to dangerous lows. Migrants were seen sleeping outside an East Village re-ticketing site overnight, some waiting to re-apply for temporary housing after their 30-day stay expired. The scene caused outrage among migrant advocates with the Legal Aid Society calling it a breach of the city’s obligation to provide shelter to anyone in need.
A spokesperson for City Hall responded by saying in part:
“We have warned that without substantive help from our state and federal partners, this crisis could play out on city streets. We are doing everything we can to try and find additional space in a system that is long past its breaking point.“
The spokesperson said the city will do their best to keep the line at the re-ticketing site indoors as the temperature continues to drop. They also said they would provide an indoor waiting room for migrants when the center is closed.
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