Congress Member Nicole Malliotakis outside the Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter with Assembly Member Jaime Williams, Ken Spencer, Chairman of the U.S. Park Police FOP and Council Member Joann Ariola.
Photo courtesy of Nicole Malliotakis’ office
Republican Congress Member Nicole Malliotakis on Thursday led a group of bipartisan New York elected officials in renewing their calls for the cancellation of the migrant shelter lease agreement at Floyd Bennett Field.
Malliotakis, who represents Bay Ridge and Staten Island in the nation’s lower chamber, was joined Jan. 25 by New York State Assembly Member Jaime Williams (D-Brooklyn) and Queens Council Member Joann Ariola (R-Queens) outside the large-scale migrant shelter in Marine Park, saying the inclement weather-induced evacuation of the shelter last month was proof the location is not “suitable to house anybody.”
“Turning our federal parks into encampments for unvetted migrants from all over the world is unfair to surrounding communities and the taxpayers who are being forced to foot the bill while our Mayor bankrupts our city and slashes services from our citizens,” Malliotakis said, accusing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of “ignoring the reality of what’s happening here in his home city.”
On Nov. 30, The U.S. House passed Malliotakis’ bill that would prohibit federal funding from being used to provide housing for migrants on federal lands. The Floyd Bennett Field shelter falls under that category as it is built on a decommissioned airfield in federal parkland that the city is leasing from the Biden administration.
However, the bill, H. R. 5283, was considered dead on arrival in the Senate after the Biden administration came out against it prior to the House vote taking place.
“The Administration opposes this legislation because it would significantly restrict the ability of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to make decisions…
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