Mayor Eric Adams insists shelter that migrants refuse to move to is not a 'prison'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams denied claims that a Brooklyn shelter set up to house at least 1,000 male migrants is a prison, nearly a dozen of whom have refused to be to leave the hotel they have been living in for the past few months.

Several of these migrants — who were bused up to New York City from Texas — told DailyMail.com they thought the shelter set up at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood resembled a 'jail.'

'Left-wing activists' have now helped those refusing to leave the $450-a-night Watson Hotel in Brooklyn by setting up tents on the sidewalk.

But in a new public service announcement, Eric Adams tries to show off some of the amenities of the shelter at the Brooklyn terminal as he poses with a Venezuelan migrant named Wilson, who thanks New York City for its efforts.

Some asylum seekers are refusing to leave the Watson Hotel in Brooklyn under Mayor Eric Adams' plan to relocate migrants to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

In a tweet Monday night, the New York City mayor touted the city's efforts to accommodate the migrants

In the video posted to Twitter, Eric Adams says the migrants in New York City are trying to live the American Dream, as he boasts about the city and state's efforts to accommodate the thousands of migrants who have arrived in recent months.

He also showed off some of the amenities at the shelter, including a ping pong table and a buffet.

'It doesn't matter if it's Ellis Island or the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal or it's any of our ports,' the mayor began. 'It's all rooted in the American Dream. You pursue the dream here.'

He then went on to say: 'I just had to come here when I started hearing all the rumors about "it was cold," my brother got shorts on, it's warm inside' pointing to Wilson wearing shorts as he chuckles, 'about the food not being here. 

'You know, healthy food is present. Even the snacks are healthy,' Adams said as he held up an orange.

'We just need to stop the anxiety,' the 62-year-old New York City mayor told the public, claiming he has spoken to several of the migrants who have said '"We want to come here, we want to work, we want to pursue the American Dream. We're thankful to the people of New York City."

'I heard that over and over again.'

Adams then used the opportunity to tout the city and state's efforts to accommodate the influx of migrants from Latin America, saying: 'We are doing our job. We need the national government and Congress to do their job.

'This is how you get through a crisis, together.' 

He added in a tweet: 'The asylum seeker crisis is a national problem that needs a national solution.

'New York City is proud to have welcomed tens of thousands of asylum seekers and given them shelter, food and resources. But we can't do this alone.' 

In a public service announcement, Mayor Eric Adams said the migrants are trying to live the American Dream

He insisted in the video posted to Twitter that there is healthy food, holding up an orange

The mayor's video also showed off a buffet at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook

Other accommodations set up for the migrants are a ping pong table

The video came as Brooklyn residents and mutual aid organizations descended on the area outside the Wilson Hotel to provide the migrants with tents, clothes, and food.

They used Twitter to fundraise, writing, 'PULL UP, SUPPORT ASYLUM SEEKERS,' and telling activists to send money to a specific account.

The funds, they said 'will go to tents, food, warm clothing, and supplies to keep everyone warm as they keep each other safe.'

As Andy Ngo, editor of The Post Millennial claimed: 'Overnight, dozens of male migrants refused to be transferred to a shelter in Brooklyn after being put up in a midtown Manhattan hotel paid by taxpayers.

'Far-left activists swarmed the area, providing the men with material to build an encampment.' 

Tents lined the sidewalk outside the Wilson Hotel on Monday as migrants refused to leave

Some male asylum seekers were seen keeping warm by wrapping themselves in blankets and sleeping bags

Some of the migrants camped out in sleeping bags when they refused to leave

The migrants have voiced concerns non-optimal conditions at the pop-up facility, which some Monday likened to a jail

A sign on a pole describes how the migrants 'need help, please' and need a place to sleep

Under Adams' plan for the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal — which is set near the southern end of the East River between Brooklyn and Governors Island — 1,000 male migrants who have been shacked up at the Wilson Hotel free of charge would be relocated to the shelter.

Announcing his intentions, Adams said his office planned to replace the displaced single male migrants with the families - many of whom are already being put up at the $700-a-night hotel in Hell's Kitchen. 

He had given those staying at the Watson a deadline to move out by Monday, saying the men will be replaced by asylum-seeking families.

That spurred several migrants to take up residence outside the building Sunday night in protest of the mayor's declaration - with many outright refusing to relocate, citing privacy concerns and non-optimal conditions at the pop-up facility.

By Monday, as several found themselves locked out of their respective rooms at the Watson, the predominantly Latin American procession remained, setting up camp directly outside the luxury building in direct defiance of Adams' order. 

Photographs taken Monday morning showed dozens of tents lining the sidewalk on 57th street directly outside the hotel, while some male asylum seekers were seen keeping warm by wrapping themselves in blankets and sleeping bags.

They were reportedly removed from their rooms one by one, with others returning to their rooms Monday telling reporters they were not being allowed back into their rooms to retrieve their belongings.

 Migrants grab donated supplies while camping out in front of the Watson after being evicted

The single mom said that the group of displaced men grew even more disruptive by morning, after local residents gifted them tents and tables full of food as they refused to relocate.

The outdoor encampment then surfaced sometime before 4am, spurring officers from the NYPD to arrive on the scene just a few hours later. 

The displaced asylum seekers could be seen protesting their prospective transfer to the cruise terminal - which, unlike the Watson, offers migrants only a single, army-style cot as opposed to an actual bed - by painting a massive banner to be hung on the scaffolding outside the Watson Hotel.

'Hogares permanentes!' a spray-painted message read, translating to 'Permanent homes.'

The call for alternative housing was accompanied by another demand, this one written in English, that besieged New York officials to 'cancel rent.'

The photos show a mass of roughly 1,000 of cot-style beds, all in close proximity to one another

A photo provided by one of the migrants shows rows of beds set up at the terminal

Speaking to DailyMail.com outside the Watson Monday, one of the migrants, 32-year-old Labrador, lamented his and others' situation but remained adamant that he would not relocate to the Brooklyn shelter, comparing it to jail.

‘They want to take us to a place like a jail,' said Labrador, who is from Venezuela and served in the country's Special Forces.

'They don’t show us the real pictures and video but I have them and will show everybody,' the migrant said, producing photos that have been circulating on social media showing the interior shelter.

The photos show a mass of roughly 1,000 cot-style beds, all in close proximity to one another. 

'The cots are lined up next to each other,' the asylum seeker pointed out, before complaining that he and others 'have to cross the street to take a shower.'

He then asked, 'How can they let us live like this?' referring to Adams and other city officials. 'We want answers,' he said. 'The city needs to send people to talk to us. We will sleep right here again tonight.' 

Erika Quintero, a single mom who lives across the street from the encampment with her young son, told DailyMail.com she's been forced to carry pepper spray just to make it through the rowdy mass to her building, producing the cannister as proof

The outdoor encampment surfaced sometime before 4am, spurring officers from the NYPD to arrive on the scene just a few hours later. As of Monday afternoon, several officers remained at the scene The Watson, seemingly to monitor the situation

But the migrants' presence has already made some in the area anxious, with a single mother saying she now feels the need to carry pepper spray when she walks home.

Erika Quintero, who lives across the street from the tent-laden encampment on West 57th street, told DailyMail.com that the migrants have already been 'disruptive' in the few hours since they set up camp.

‘Last night there was so much noise,' said Quintero, who lives alone with her 9-year-old son in the residential building.

Speaking to DailyMail.com just a few feet from the mass of migrants - who are all men - she said that she and her son have lived at the residential building for years, during which time she and her family were subjected to the hordes of homeless who had been housed at the hotel during the pandemic, in another effort from Adams.

Revealing that her husband passed away just six months ago, the single mom said that the group of displaced men grew even more disruptive by the morning after local residents gifted them tents and tables full of food as they refused to relocate.

'Loud music, people screaming,' she said. 'My son was trying to take a class on zoom. It’s very frightening.'

Others in the neighborhood also told DailyMail.com that members of the camp have been seen cat-calling female citizens while smoking marijuana and drinking beer.

'Look at me I am carrying pepper spray,' Quintera said, producing a canister from her purse as proof. She proceeded to question the city's handling of the ongoing migrant issue, as well as Adams' offices' apparent hesitance to break up the procession.

'Why is the city doing this to us?' the frustrated mother asked.

The asylum seekers said that they are hoping their noncompliance spurs Adams to reconsider his office’s plan to relocate them to the Red Hook ferry terminal (pictured), citing non-ideal living conditions at the somewhat isolated facility 

The new shelter at the terminal, meanwhile, is somewhat isolated, far away from accessible medical care and opportunities to work - one of the many concerns voiced Monday by the migrants who spoke to DailyMail.com. 

As City Council member Gail Brewer explained 'almost 100 percent of the migrants who were at the hotel are working as dishwashers or doing deliveries,' and are unhappy that they will now 'have to come to Manhattan from Red Hook.'

'It's a long way,' she said. 'It's about a 20-minute walk to the subway. It's near the ferry boat and there is a bus, but I'm not sure how long.

When asked what the city's plans are to address the migrants who refuse to relocate and plan to continue to sleep on the street, she responded, 'I don't know the answer to that.'

She added that the migrants most likely will be in the Red Hook shelter until April, about the time when cruise ships first start to arrive.