Plan brings system into compliance with shelter law; 1,950 residents to transition to standard DHS facilities
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration released a comprehensive plan February 20 to close the city’s last remaining emergency migrant shelter by the end of calendar year 2026. The closure completes unwinding of the crisis-era shelter system established by former Mayor Eric Adams during the 2022 surge of asylum seekers crossing the southern border. The facility, a Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center (HERRC) in the Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood, currently houses about 1,950 single adults in temporary accommodations. Under the Mamdani plan, residents will transition into standard Department of Homeless Services facilities that comply with city shelter laws requiring cooking facilities, capacity limits, and other minimum standards. The initiative signals that the new administration views the migrant crisis as resolved and shelter policy as ripe for normalization.
The Emergency That Became Permanent: From Crisis Response to System Failure
Beginning in October 2022, former Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency after approximately 20 thousand asylum seekers crossed the southern border and made their way to New York City. The declaration allowed the city to suspend longstanding shelter regulations requiring cooking facilities for families with children, capacity limits on adult shelters, and other minimum standards. Adams repeatedly extended the emergency state every five days, claiming circumstances remained too unstable for normal regulations. His administration opened shelters in gymnasiums, warehouses, churches, and sprawling tent encampments. At peak, the system housed over 65 thousand people including families, individuals, and unaccompanied minors. Critics, including Mamdani himself during the campaign, argued that the “emergency” became excuse for indefinite suspension of shelter standards. Once established, emergency policies persisted regardless of actual conditions on the ground. When asylum seeker arrival rates declined sharply in 2024, the system failed to consolidate or normalize operations. Instead, the final facilities remained in emergency limbo.
The Mamdani Plan: Closing Emergency Shelters, Bringing Compliance
Mamdani issued Executive Order 2 in early January directing the Law Department and Department of Social Services to develop a compliance plan within 45 days. The plan released February 20 accomplishes this mandate. All remaining residents in the emergency HERRC facility will transition to standard DHS congregate shelters or “stabilization facilities” providing low-barrier access with fewer regulations. The transition will occur gradually through 2026, allowing residents time to secure alternative housing or accept permanent shelter placements. Notably, the city committed to not implementing a policy by former Mayor Adams requiring people to prove six months of homelessness or shelter cycling before accessing low-barrier “safe haven” shelter beds. Mamdani rescinded that policy in February after advocates documented that it would disqualify many newly homeless people from supportive shelter.
What Happens to 1,950 People: Transition to Standard Services
The 1,950 residents currently in the HERRC facility face transition options. Those with active asylum cases will be offered DHS shelter placement with case management services. Family shelters include cooking facilities, support services, and pathway planning toward permanent housing. Single adult shelters include more basic services but adequate capacity. The city will also prioritize placement in permanent supportive housing for individuals with chronic health needs or disabilities. Additionally, approximately 150 hotel properties still house migrant families under city contracts. These are being transitioned to standard shelter operations or closed as families secure permanent housing. The timeline extends through 2026 to minimize disruption and allow time for case management.
The Broader Shelter System: Still Serving 60 Thousand People
Despite Mamdani’s plan to normalize operations, the city’s shelter system remains massively overcrowded. On any given night, approximately 60 thousand people sleep in city shelters. This includes formerly homeless New Yorkers, families escaping domestic violence, individuals experiencing mental health crises, and others lacking housing. The shelter system operates at maximum capacity during winter months. Winter 2025-2026 saw the tragic deaths of eighteen to twenty New Yorkers exposed to freezing temperatures, many of whom had contact with the shelter system. The system cannot adequately serve even baseline demand. Closing emergency shelters does not solve underlying housing scarcity that forces people into shelters.
Rikers Island and Jail Compliance: Parallel Reform Efforts
Simultaneously with shelter reforms, Mamdani’s administration released February 20 an action plan to implement Local Law 42 and bring Rikers Island jails into compliance with Board of Correction minimum standards. The plan requires ending 12-hour shifts for correctional staff by spring 2026, returning to eight-hour tours. It calls for development of plan by summer 2027 to end comminglinghousing people of all ages togetherthrough facility assessments. These reforms address decades of documented violence, deaths, and human rights violations at Rikers.
The Federal Monitor: Who Really Controls Rikers?
Mamdani’s compliance plan operates under federal oversight. In May 2025, a federal judge appointed a “remediation manager”a former CIA officerto oversee key aspects of Rikers operations after the city repeatedly failed to comply with court orders in a decade-long civil rights case. This federal appointee must approve implementation of the compliance plan. The arrangement strips city control of the jail complex. Whether Mamdani’s administration can genuinely reform Rikers depends on cooperation with federal monitors.
Why Previous Administrations Failed to Normalize Shelters
Former Mayor de Blasio’s administration initially committed to returning shelters to full compliance with city law. Yet operational pressures and lack of political will resulted in indefinite extension of emergency policies. Former Mayor Adams actively defended extended emergencies, claiming asylum seekers created ongoing crisis requiring continued suspensions. Mamdani appears committed to normalization, but budget constraints and federal oversight of Rikers may limit implementation. The question is whether political commitment translates into action.
What the Plan Means for Asylum Seekers: Fewer Resources, Same Need
A concerning element is that transition to standard DHS services will likely reduce total resources available to migrant residents. Emergency shelters included specialized interpretation services, legal orientation services, and coordination with asylum case management. Standard DHS shelters, while adequate, lack specialized migrant services. Families will be served through regular family shelter intake. Single adults will enter general population shelters. This transition may complicate asylum case preparation and legal proceedings. Advocates worry that normalization without service augmentation abandons vulnerable people.
The Trump Factor: Federal Policies Complicating Local Response
Mamdani’s shelter plan operates under new federal context. Trump administration policies announced in 2025 included deportation acceleration and elimination of federal funding for certain migrant services. The city lost federal funding previously supporting migrant services in shelters. This creates pressure to consolidate system even as resources decline. Some shelter funding previously available through federal grants has disappeared.
The Historical Moment: When Crisis Becomes Opportunity for Reform
Crisis often creates opportunity for systemic reform. The migrant shelter expansion offered chance to redesign system for equity and dignity. Instead, it resulted in temporary emergency facilities never normalized. Mamdani’s plan returns to baseline, not improvement. True progress would involve standards that apply universally to all shelter residents: adequate staffing, quality food, access to healthcare, pathways to permanent housing. The current plan maintains two-tiered system where some shelter residents have better services than others.
What Success Looks Like: Timeline and Metrics
The administration should establish clear metrics for successful transition. These should include placement rates to permanent housing (currently approximately three percent), resident satisfaction, health outcomes, and staff retention. Monthly progress reports should be public. If transition drags beyond 2026 or creates service gaps, the plan should be adjusted. Continued transparency about challenges will be essential to public trust. See NYC Department of Social Services shelter information. Learn about Department of Homeless Services programs and statistics.
