Lawsuit against Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter moved to federal court
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The lawsuit regarding the planned migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field has been moved from a state to federal court. AP file photo by Chris Hawley
By Ryan Schwach
A lawsuit filed by a group of mostly Republican lawmakers and community leaders in opposition to a planned migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn will not be heard by a state judge but instead a federal one.
On Monday, the petitioners in the case – which include Republican Queens Councilmember Joanna Ariola and Democratic Brooklyn Assemblymember Jamie Williams – announced that the case, which was initially expected to be heard by Richmond County Supreme Court Judge Lizette Colon on Tuesday, will now be heard in federal court in New York’s Eastern District.
The move from state to federal court was requested by attorneys for the City of New York and granted by a judge on Monday.
The suit was filed in September by the officials, as well as community members in Queens and South Brooklyn, in an effort to stop the state from building a 2,000-bed migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field, a long defunct military base and landing strip now under the control of the National Park Service.
Ariola and Williams say that despite the change of venue, their approach to the fight against the shelter will not likely change.
“I am looking forward to our day in federal court,” said Williams. “Regardless of which venue they want this to unfold in, I am certain that once the facts are laid out in court, we will come out with a victory.”
John Campioli, the petitioners’ attorney and frequent legal representative for Republican causes, called the request to change courts an attempt to postpone the case.
“This is nothing but a delaying tactic, and at the end of day the city and the governor will have to face the music,” he said.
The city told the Eagle that they believe federal court is the best location for the case because the injunction cites federal law.
“As Mayor Adams has repeatedly said, we empathize with New Yorkers who are weary of bearing the brunt of a national asylum seeker crisis,” a City Hall spokesperson said. “We have opened 210 sites, including 17 large-scale humanitarian relief centers, and have now passed our breaking point. After months of urging by l Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, and numerous other leaders, the federal government granted use of Floyd Bennett Field to shelter migrants. Let’s be clear, the sites left at this point are the only options left. Because Floyd Bennett Field is located in the Eastern District of New York, and the lawsuit cites federal law, we strongly believe this matter is best adjudicated in federal court.”
Last week, Ariola and Williams attended a congressional hearing on the migrant issue, and took questions from both Republicans and Democrats. At the center of their respective testimonies was their opposition to the planned shelter at Floyd Bennett Field, which first required authorization from the federal government.
“The placement of the migrant base camp flies in the face of the founding ideals of the National Parks Service and erodes the democratic underpinnings that have been the hallmark of our parks since their inception,” Ariola said in D.C.
She took flak from fellow Queens elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who took issue with Ariola and Williams’ lack of alternative plans if Floyd Bennett Field was not used as a location to shelter migrants.
“We’ve got folks who want to block people from being able to follow the same American Dream that almost every person here, their family comes from,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We should be paving the pathways to make this as easy as possible.”
