New York City to house migrants in school gyms, sparking outrage from parents 

New York City officials began housing asylum seekers arriving at the city in public school gyms, sparking outrage from parents who claim it is “unfair” and “unacceptable.” 

Mayor Eric Adams said that officials are currently looking at 20 schools with free-standing gyms to turn them into additional housing for migrants. 

"This is one of the last places we want to look at. None of us are comfortable with having to take these drastic steps," the mayor said. 

"Each gym, the 20 gyms that we are looking at, we have not made a final determination on all the gyms, but that we are looking at are separate from the actual school buildings. They are independent of the school buildings," he added, without specifying for how long the gyms would be as an emergency site. 

School officials sent a letter to parents of the students who attend the affected schools, promising that the migrants would be confined to the gym alone. 

"This should not impact school operations, nor will the families have access to any other part of the school where students and staff are," read the letter obtained by ABC New York. 

The measure provoked a backlash from parents and community members, many of which protested at the schools against the Mayor’s decision. 

"It is not a hotel, it's not a shelter. It is a school gym. So the children of Coney Island should not pay for the misguided policies of the Biden administration," Lakeisha Bowers, whose son graduated from one of the selected schools in Brooklyn, told “Fox & Friends.” 

"They have centers. They have maybe churches that have extra floors. I don't think the school should have been an option at all,” she added.

Some parents have even threatened to pull their kids out of the school due to the safety concerns and potential learning disruptions brought about by the decision. 

“We care about asylum-seekers, and we’re proud our city is a ‘sanctuary city’ — but housing asylum seekers on school grounds is absolutely unacceptable,” said Virginia Vu, a PTA member, and parent at one of the schools. 

Since the spring of 2022, over 65,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the city from border cities in Texas. Last week alone, around 4,200 migrants arrived. The city expects at least 15 additional buses this weekend. 

The city has struggled to provide housing options for the thousands of migrants arriving at the Big Apple. The city’s shelter system is currently beyond capacity, housing over 36,700 migrants across 120 locations, according to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Officials have set up emergency shelters and have placed migrants in hotels around the city as alternative options. City officials are also considering sending some migrants to other New York suburbs to help alleviate the pressure.