Federal officials knowingly allowed a migrant encampment housing 2,000 people to operate as a fire hazard at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, ignoring urgent safety warnings from New York City firefighters and local lawmakers for over a year, according to emails obtained through public records requests.
Dangerous Conditions Documented By Fire Officials
New York City Fire Department Deputy Assistant Chief Dean Koester warned National Park Service officials in July 2024 that the nearest working fire hydrant sat 2,500 to 3,000 feet from the shelter. Firefighters estimated it would take 30 minutes to establish a water source during an emergency. The hydrants had not received routine maintenance since 1972, and no sprinkler systems existed on site.
Koester described the sleeping arrangements inside five large tents as maze-like, making evacuation during an emergency extremely difficult. He directly warned federal officials that the lack of fire protection placed shelter residents in a perilous situation. Despite these documented safety concerns, the encampment remained operational for months afterward.
Federal Officials Praised Unsafe Facility
Months before firefighters raised alarms, National Park Service Gateway National Recreation Area superintendent Jen Nersesian toured the facility and praised it in a January 2024 email. She described the encampment as clean and well-run, though she acknowledged the cramped, bare-bones living conditions. Her positive assessment contradicted the serious safety deficiencies later documented by emergency response professionals.
Democratic Assemblywoman Jaime Williams filed litigation against New York City after her office received numerous complaints about migrants from the facility panhandling in nearby neighborhoods. Williams and other Brooklyn and Queens officials warned in January 2024 that the park was becoming a dumping ground deteriorating faster than anyone imagined. Two days later, James Madison High School students were forced from classrooms when migrants sheltered in the school gym during severe weather.
What This Means
The Center to Advance Security in America obtained the documents showing National Park Service officials kept thousands of illegal aliens at Floyd Bennett Field despite knowing the site was unsafe. The encampment operated from November 2023 until January 2025, when then-Mayor Eric Adams finally shut down what had become a shantytown inside a national historic site. The facility prevented law-abiding New Yorkers from using the park as intended while housing migrants in conditions that violated basic fire safety standards for over a year.