NYC to close last migrant shelter hotel 

The last migrant shelter operating in a former New York City hotel will shut down next spring.

Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday that the city will close The Row Hotel, located a block from Times Square, in April 2026. The property was the first hotel converted into a migrant shelter in 2022, and its 1,300 units have cost the city $5.13 million per month.

Adams said the city will not renew its contract with Rockpoint Group, the hotel’s owner.

He called the closure a “major milestone in our administration’s recovery from this international humanitarian crisis” in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

“Three years ago, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers began streaming into our city every week – and the Adams administration stepped up,” Adams said. “We opened hundreds of emergency migrant shelters to ensure no family slept on the street. Since then, we have successfully helped more than 200,000 migrants leave our shelter system and take the next step toward self-sufficiency.”

At the peak of the crisis, New York City was running 220 migrant shelters. In 2024, 80% of the 193 operating shelters were converted hotels.

“We have skillfully and humanely managed a national humanitarian crisis – and have done what no other city could do,” Adams said.

The Row’s closure comes amid growing complaints from residents and concerns about public safety. The hotel has been linked to multiple incidents involving residents who are members of the Tren de Aragua gang, including attacks on NYPD officers.

The Row’s 3,400 residents will be moved into the city’s traditional shelter system, according to The New York Times.

A spokesman for the mayor’s office said the city has “purchased more than 65,000 tickets to help migrants exit the shelter system and reach their preferred destinations.”

The mayor’s office also noted 110,000 asylum applications have been processed in the city so far, accounting for more than 90% of those eligible.

President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement measures have reduced illegal border crossings by more than 99%, according to the Daily Wire. CNN recently projected the United States will see negative net migration in 2025 for the first time in half a century.

Housing migrants at The Row costs about $3,950 per unit each month, several hundred dollars more than the average monthly rate for a single room in New York City.