A Democratic lawmaker slammed the Biden administration for greenlighting Albany’s request to house migrants in her district at Floyd Bennett Field, claiming the White House is “highly disrespectful” for saddling her constituents with the fallout of a national crisis.
Assemblywoman Jaime Williams, who represents southeast Brooklyn neighborhoods including Marine Park and Canarsie, said that since news broke about the plan to house 2,500 migrants at the defunct airfield, parents have raised concerns about children who attend programs at the site’s Aviator Sports and Event Center.
“Parents are very concerned for their children to be participating in programs at Aviator, even playing soccer on the field,” she said. “We’re not saying something is going to happen but where are the safety measures in place?”
Williams rattled off myriad reasons for her opposition, including the increased burden on police.
“You’re going to be stretching our system extremely thin where our cops are concerned,” she said.
On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the White House had agreed to lease Floyd Bennett Field to the Empire State, weeks after the feds had initially rejected a proposal to convert the two-square-mile facility into emergency housing for migrants.
Williams, however, didn’t hold back on ripping President Biden for ignoring the wishes of local pols and their constituents.
“Don’t let a national issue be a local issue. Don’t use your power to put something in the backyards of local elected officials,” Williams said of the White House. “We have a constituency to represent, and it’s highly disrespectful.”
The Brooklyn assemblywoman has joined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers who have blasted the president over the paltry assistance to aid the endless influx of migrants into the city.
Mayor Adams has agitated dozens of times for Biden to declare a state of emergency and provide more federal funding to the Big Apple, while Hochul this week demanded the president take “executive action,” including doling out financial aid and expediting work permits for migrants.
“This crisis originated with the federal government, and it must be resolved through the federal government,” the Democratic governor said.
Since spring 2022, over 100,000 migrants have flooded the city, with roughly 60,000 currently being housed in its overwhelmed shelter system — and thousands more coming each week.
State lawmakers earmarked $1.5 billion for tackling the migrant crisis as part of this year’s budget, but Hizzoner warned that ballooning costs could leave the city on the hook for a staggering $12 billion over the next three years.
