Asylum seeking families in The Bronx received a wide range of medical check-ups on Saturday, Nov. 5, through a humanitarian, volunteer-based initiative coordinated by North Central Bronx Hospital, Metro Plus, and Bronx Works. The Norwood hospital, part of NYC Health + Hospitals public hospital system, the insurance provider, and community organization, respectively, committed to helping asylum seeking families improve their social well-being.

According to John Doyle, associate director in the marketing, public and community relations department at NCB and Jacobi Medical Center, the three referenced entities have teamed up to offer a range of pediatric primary care services to more than one hundred asylum seekers over the course of three Saturdays in November.

Services include vaccination, lab work, early intervention assessment, fluoride treatment, and other services provided by the dental department at the event. According to NCB, physicians, nurses, ancillary and administrative staff are volunteering their time for what was described as this critical outreach initiative, providing registration and the necessary documents to help connect kids aged 2-4 with “Head Start” programs.

According to NYC Department of Education, children in “Head Start” programs get nutritious meals and health screenings, and families get support in accessing the health services they need. Head Start programs help parents and families achieve their own goals, including employment, housing, and adult education. It has some eligibility requirements for families. There are also spaces available in Early Head Start programs, which serve pregnant mothers, infants, and toddlers.

“Supporting the asylum seekers in The Bronx aligns with NYC Health + Hospitals’ mission to extend to all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay, comprehensive health services of the highest quality in an atmosphere of humane care, dignity, and respect,” NCB officials said.

They added, “NYC Health + Hospitals is committed to social and racial equity and has established the ICARE (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence) standards for all our staff.”

Meanwhile, on Nov. 10, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the City would soon open a fourth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center that will serve asylum seekers. As the estimated number of asylum seekers in New York City surpasses at least 23,800, this specific humanitarian relief center will assist newly arriving single adult men, and provide them with a range of services, in addition to ensuring they can reach their desired destination, if it is not New York City, city officials said.

This humanitarian relief center will be located at the Watson Hotel in midtown Manhattan and will include 600 rooms to serve asylum seekers. City officials added that while they continue to arrive, the speed at which the number of single adult males seeking asylum in New York City has slowed in recent weeks and as such, the city will demobilize the Randall’s Island Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center next week. 

As previously reported, the Randall’s Island site was erected after a decision was taken by City officials not to proceed finally with a pre-planned shelter for asylum seekers at Orchard Beach in The Bronx. Communities from City Island had clashed, as reported several weeks ago during one of a number of rallies held at the Orchard Beach site.

Now, occupants at the Randall’s Island center will be offered transport to the Watson Hotel beginning next week, city officials said. Humanitarian relief centers are the first touch point for arriving asylum seekers, helping people by immediately offering shelter, food, medical care, case work services, and a range of settlement options, officials said. 

On Thursday, Nov. 10, Adams said of the latest decision, “We continue to welcome asylum seekers arriving in New York City with compassion and care. This Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center will provide asylum seekers with a place to stay, access support, and get to their final destination.”

He added, “The city is currently caring for over 17,500 asylum seekers, a number that continues to grow steadily. We will continue to pivot and shift as necessary to deal with this humanitarian crisis, but it’s clear that we still need financial assistance from our state and federal partners.” 

Since the latest humanitarian crisis began, City officials said the City has, “largely on its own, taken fast and urgent action, managing the arrival of a rapidly increasing number of asylum seekers, with virtually no coordination from the states sending them, opening 58 hotels as emergency shelters and three humanitarian relief centers, setting up a navigation center to connect asylum seekers with critical resources, enrolling children in public schools through Project Open Arms, and more.”  

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams released the following statement in response to the latest announcement. “From the beginning of this humanitarian crisis facing our city, the Council has advocated for Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Recovery Centers (HERRCs) to be sited indoors and identified several large hotels that were not remotely located.”

She added, “People who seek asylum in our city deserve to be treated with dignity, care and compassion, and we always believed this was more appropriate. I’m pleased to see the Administration implement this model that the Council recommended by closing the Randall’s Island HERRC and opening a new site in the Watson Hotel.”

The speaker concluded, “This is the right approach for these intake services, and there remains important work and policy changes for the City to advance that move people out of shelter, such as removing the 90-day in-shelter requirement for CityFHEPS rental vouchers, and provide the critical supports for the individuals and families seeking asylum and all New Yorkers.”

Meanwhile, Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the organization applauded the City’s decision to close the Randalls Island encampment and relocate existing and future asylum seekers to a new location better suited to ensuring they have ready access to mass transit and the supportive services they need to more fully integrate into New York City life.

“Still, it is imperative that the City moves quickly to offer permanent housing to longtime shelter residents and others stuck in the city’s overburdened shelter system,” he said. “The City must also expand eligibility of CityFEPS to include families and individuals regardless of immigration status, and fill the vacancies in all Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) apartments. We look forward to continuing to work with the Adams administration to create the most welcoming conditions possible for asylum seekers and all new arrivals in a city that has always stood as a beacon of hope for immigrants.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.