Emails reviewed by The Post indicate that a large migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn devolved into a "dumping ground" and fire hazard, with Biden administration officials allegedly overlooking pleas from state lawmakers and local officials to address the deteriorating conditions. Approximately 2,000 migrants resided at the site between November 2023 and January 2025, when then-Mayor Eric Adams closed the facility.
Fire Department of New York Deputy Assistant Chief Dean Koester communicated safety concerns in a July 15, 2024, email to a National Park Service (NPS) official. "We have always maintained that this situation is not optimal," Koester wrote, noting that the nearest operable fire hydrant was an estimated 3,000 feet away, which would require approximately 30 minutes to establish a water source in case of a fire. He also pointed out that the hydrants had not received maintenance since 1972 and that no sprinklers were installed on site. Koester further warned that the "maze-like" sleeping arrangements within the five large tents would impede emergency evacuations, placing residents in a "perilous situation."
Despite these warnings, NPS officials had previously praised the setup of the encampment. NPS Gateway National Recreation Area superintendent Jen Nersesian wrote in a Jan. 9, 2024, email that she had toured the site and found it "clean and well-run, albeit in cramped, bare-bones living conditions." This description contrasts with concerns raised by local officials.
Democratic Assemblywoman Jaime Williams had expressed frustration in a Jan. 8, 2024, letter to Mayor Adams regarding asylum-seekers panhandling in nearby neighborhoods and parking luxury vehicles outside the park. "My office has received numerous complaints from residents who are upset about excessive solicitation from migrants who are begging for money, food, and clothing," Williams stated, adding that her inquiries to site administrators were met with assurances that all migrant needs were being met within the facility.
On the same day as Williams' letter to Adams, she co-signed another letter with other Brooklyn and Queens officials that described the park as a "dumping ground which seems to be deteriorating faster than one could ever have imagined." Shortly thereafter, students from James Madison High School were temporarily moved from their classrooms when migrants sought shelter in the school's gym during inclement weather.
According to a House Republican-led committee, the establishment of the Floyd Bennett Field encampment involved coordination between Mayor Adams, Biden White House senior adviser Tom Perez, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul in August 2023. Representatives for the NPS and Governor Hochul's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.