Snapshots of Migrants in New York

Tom Watson posted this thread about the crush of migrants in New York.

I just took a walk over to the Roosevelt Hotel, ground zero of the so-called "migrant crisis" in New York. It's an easy set-up for news crews, an easy target for anti-immigrant protesters, and frankly, the current Mayor used it as an easy prop when he declared a crisis.

So I took a slight detour to walk around and briefly duck into the lobby to see for myself. Didn't take photos out of respect for the asylum seekers. There were no protesters. A few cops, which is prudent because of the outrageous threats against those temporarily housed there.

The first thing I noticed was the presence of children in the lobby, or tightly gripping their parents' hands at the entrances. I didn't wander around because I was probably not supposed to be there. But wearing a suit and tie (and being an old white dude), nobody stopped me.

This Times piece from a couple of weeks ago has some great photos that capture the setting of a once palatial railroad station hotel serving as a makeshift processing center.

The second thing I noticed is the rather vast corral of scooters, ebikes, and motorcycles lined up outside - the product not of immigration policy but our modern "gig economy" and the workforce of Uber Eats and Door Dash couriers. Yes, workforce! You see where this is going... And the third thing? Relative calm. Yeah there was some weed smoke (but where is there not these days?) Yeah the bikes block the street and the drivers do not - shall we say - obey traffic laws. But where are they not these days? And how come the vast NYPD doesn't enforce them?

But for a "crisis" it was rather mundane. Yet we're fed a constant barrage of angry, screaming, hateful mini mobs in Staten Island or on Vanderbilt Avenue. The truth is much quieter! Yes, there is a policy and budget challenge. No question. But New York is hardly falling apart.

Don't believe me? Head over to the Roosevelt Hotel.