Gabrielle Apisa '27
On the night of January 9 to the early hours of January 10, temporarily stationed asylum seekers were moved from the Floyd Bennett Field facility to James Madison High School in the Midwood area of Brooklyn. In response to the rising risk of floods, the emergency management team of NYC Mayor Eric Adams moved a total of 2,000 migrants out of cot-tent housing and into the auditorium of this public high school.
Without a time projection for the stay of these families, administrators of the high school established that Wednesday would be a remote day for all students. With an approximate population of 3,500 students, it was likely that administrators would face a wave of concerns from parents. That presumption was exactly correct.
Tatyana Lerner, the mother of a student currently attending James Madison High School, reported to the press, “The principal actually decided to do remote learning…[however] the remote learning is not happening because none of the teachers showed up to the link provided.” While she may be addressing a more internal issue that needed to be amended amongst the Madison High School staff directory, her concerns were far from silenced. As the parent of a swim team member, her opposition to Mayor Adams’ decision has stood strong.
Tatyana Terner’s unease regarding the health and proactive education of all Madison students was strongly supported. Jamie Williams, a state assembly member representing Midwood, has shown similar discontentment. As the mother of a 12th-grade student, she noted, “Yesterday, while I was in Albany…my daughter called me and that’s how I found out what was happening. I mean this is unfair.”
Ever since city-funded school buses escorted these migrants to Midwood, local citizens have declared that the city has prioritized “migrants over our communities, budget, safety and even the education of our children,” as stated by NYS Assembly Member Michael Novahkok. In a further effort to oppose the decision of Eric Adams, Michael Novahkok established a rally just outside of Madison High School on the morning of January 10, 2024.
As the learning of some 3,500 New York City DOE students was directly obstructed, rising tensions appeared at this protest. Joe Torres, an Eyewitness Reporter for ABC News, stated, “The displeasure….surrounding the mayor’s decision to send those migrants from Floyd Bennett Field overnight to spend the night here…was displayed with a rally, with a bomb threat, and to some of the administrators here at the school, a few hate-filled phone calls.”
On the contrary, Mayor Eric Adams was in unwavering defense of the immediate action taken by his emergency management team. As the migrant families were swiftly moved from Floyd Bennett Field to Madison High School and back, returning at around 4:00 A.M. on January 10, Adams claimed that this quick approach was all in favor of the welfare of the common people. He announced, “When you have these emergencies, you utilize all of your assets and our school buildings are part of our assets, they are focal points of our communities.” This particular focal point of our community was, according to a spokesperson for Adams, used “out of an abundance of caution” to house for about 12 hours, individuals currently residing in the former naval air station: Floyd Bennett Field.
Plus, with heavy rain storming the Tri-State area, it appeared to many that this would be one of the only facilities where thousands of migrants could rest risk-free. In August of 2023, Mayor Adams even said himself that the city had reached its max capacity, and if this wasn’t further addressed by the Biden Administration, “eventually this was going to come to a neighborhood near you.”
In support of the Adams Administration, Zach Iscol, a commissioner for the NYC Emergency Management Agency, said, “The shelter operation that James Madison High School managed….[was] nothing short of remarkable. They supplied essentials like baby formula, baby bottles, hot food, snacks, water, and blankets.”
Furthermore, Jessica Formoso from Fox 5 News reported that Madison High School will likely not be used to house asylum seekers in the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, this has not proven to calm parents of children enrolled in the NYC Public School System. Many still contemplate whether James Madison High School was an appropriate “asset” to be used in this urgent situation. Likewise, it has become unclear where migrants will be placed if another weather-implementing issue is to arise.
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