New York City shutters sprawling migrant tent camp on remote former airfield

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City has shuttered a sprawling tent complex that housed hundreds of migrant families on a remote former airport in Brooklyn, as it shrinks the emergency shelter system built up in response to a surge from the southern border that has been steadily receding in recent months.

The last of the roughly 2,000 people living on a windswept tarmac at Floyd Bennett Field, once the city’s first airport, departed the gated encampment over the weekend, and crews were seen this week dismantling the hulking structure.

Advocates had warned that the facility, which is built on leased federal land, could be vulnerable to immigration raids as President-elect Donald Trump takes office Monday.

Jehinzo Gonzalez, a 47-year-old from Venezuela, said he, his wife and three sons were transferred to another nearby city-run shelter just a week before Christmas.

“It’s a more dignified place for the family. We have three rooms for the five of us. Comfortable beds, a private bathroom,” he said in Spanish, marveling at the contrast between the hard cots they slept on in their single room at the airport tent camp since arriving in the country in October.

More than 250,000 migrants have come to New York since spring 2022, but new arrivals have declined for 27 straight weeks and are now at the lowest point in more than a year, according to Mayor Eric Adams' administration.

Roughly 50,000 migrants are currently being housed in roughly 200 temporary sites, down from nearly 70,000 last January.

But the steady drum of shelter closings and forced relocations have also forced many migrant families to upend their routines for work, schooling and other daily needs just as they are trying to establish a foothold in the city.

Gabriel Montilla, a migrant from Venezuela, said he now spends hours each day in transit, chaperoning his three young children to school in Brooklyn and rushing to make appointments after his family was recently moved from the now-closed Floyd Bennett Field encampment to a hotel in Queens.

On a frigid, windy Tuesday, he had just enough time after dropping off the kids to travel across Brooklyn to submit immigration paperwork at a government office.

“If it were summer or something without such cold weather, it would be different,” Montilla said in Spanish. “But at least for now it’s too strong, very strong; it is difficult.”

Groups advocating for migrants also say more needs to be done to transition migrants to more permanent housing.

Among the priorities should be things ranging from ending controversial policies limiting the amount of time migrants are allowed to remain in a shelter to investing in better case management and legal assistance on securing immigration status and work permits, said Will Watts, a deputy executive director at the Coalition for the Homeless.

Newly arrived migrants should also be brought into the city’s traditional shelter system for the homeless so that they are no longer segregated and vulnerable to immigration enforcement, said Steph Rudolph, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society.

Trump has promised a nationwide immigration crackdown, including mass deportations, after he takes office.

“Now that the numbers are going down, the rationale for a separate system is no longer there,” Rudolph said. “It makes sense to bring everyone under the same system.”

Gonzalez said he worries about his family’s future even though they were relieved to transfer away from the airport shelter.

“They should respect the laws,” he said of the incoming administration, noting that he and his wife have applied for asylum, have their working papers in order and are employed part-time at a local grocery. “We are doing everything as dictated by the laws of the country. We hope to God that everything goes well.”

More shelter closures are slated in the coming weeks.

Another huge tent complex, at a park on Randall’s Island off Manhattan, has been steadily emptied of residents ahead of its scheduled closure next month.

And on Friday the Adams administration announced the closure of 10 other shelters, including one in a complex of warehouses off a highway in Brooklyn that housed more than 3,300 single men at its peak.

All told, the moves will reduce the migrant housing capacity by roughly 7,800 beds — after accounting for a new, brick-and-mortar shelter being built in the Bronx to house more than 2,200 men being transferred from the tent shelters earmarked for closure, according to the mayor’s office.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Gabriel Montilla’s last name.

Associated Press writer Cedar Attanasio in New York contributed. Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.

Gleydis Carvajal, and her husband, Gabriel Montilla, walk with their children from a bus stop to a migrant shelter in Queens after picking them up from school in Brooklyn, New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Carvajal and her family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Gabriel Montilla carries his son from a bus stop to a migrant shelter in Queens after picking them up from school in Brooklyn, in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Montilla and his family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Gleydis Carvajal, left, and her husband, Gabriel Montilla, carry their children from a bus stop to a migrant shelter in Queens after picking them up from school in Brooklyn, in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Carvajal and her family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Ecuadorian Leidy Andrade consoles her daughter as they alight from a bus during their commute from Brooklyn to the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Andrade and her family were recently relocated to the shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Ecuadorian Leidy Andrade rides a bus with her daughter as they return to a shelter in the Jamaica neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, after picking up her daughter from a school in Brooklyn. Andrade and her family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Gabriel Montilla waits for a train after picking up his children from their school in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and commuting with them to a shelter in the Jamaica neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Montilla and his family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Ecuadorian Leidy Andrade rides a bus after picking up her children from their school in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and commuting with them to a shelter in the Jamaica neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Andrade and her family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Gleydis Carvajal waits in line with her children to board a bus after picking up his children from their school in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and commuting with them to a shelter in the Jamaica neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Carvajal and her family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Gabriel Montilla waits for a bus with his children after picking up his children from their school in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and commuting with them to a shelter in the Jamaica neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Montilla and his family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

Gabriel Montilla carries his son after picking up his children from their school in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and commuting with them to a shelter in the Jamaica neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Montilla and his family were recently relocated to a migrant shelter in Queens after the family shelter at Floyd Bennett Field was closed. (AP Photo/Klaus Galiano)

FILE - The gate at the migrant shelter, is closed at Floyd Bennett Field on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo, File)

DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg didn't get a call, and his coach and a teammate got kicked out of the game trying to stick up for the rookie No. 1 pick of the Dallas Mavericks.

Less than a quarter later, Flagg was the first teenager to score 51 points in an NBA game in Dallas' 138-127 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

Flagg scored 24 points in the fourth quarter after coach Jason Kidd and forward Naji Marshall were ejected complaining about what they thought was a no-call when Desmond Bane fouled Flagg.

Kidd was tossed even though he was assessed just one technical foul, while Marshall had gotten another tech at the end of the first half. His second came just moments after Kidd was thrown out.

“It’s great to see,” Flagg said after going 19 of 30 from the field and making all seven of his free throws and topping his previous career high of 49 in a 123-121 loss to Charlotte on Jan. 29.

“I already know that coach has my back and Naji ... I know he has my back for sure out there,” Flagg said. “Just seeing their emotion, seeing them fight for me and fight for the calls. Definitely some emotion, and motivated me even further.”

Flagg exited the game with 45 points, but assistant coach Frank Vogel, filling in for Kidd, told the 19-year-old he was just resting him during a defensive possession.

Vogel called a timeout to get Flagg back in with 3:22 remaining, and Flagg made history a little more than a minute later. He missed a 3-pointer the first time down, then missed a follow attempt on Brandon Williams' miss, got the rebound again and made a corner 3.

On the next Dallas possession, he hit an off-balance shot in the lane while getting fouled to clinch 50, made the free throw and left to a standing ovation.

The Mavericks were down 30 when Flagg started his fourth-quarter scoring barrage in what ended up being their 14th consecutive home loss. It's the longest home losing streak since Dallas lost the first 19 games at since-demolished Reunion Arena in 1993-94.

“It’s always fun getting into that type of mode,” Flagg said. “The basket feels big. My teammates are looking out for you, helping you out. But I like to win. That was my main focus. It’s hard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we’re down 20, down 10, down 15, for the majority of the game.”

Flagg said he thought it was obvious Bane had fouled him in the opening two minutes of the fourth.

“I think it was warranted,” Flagg said about Kidd's reaction. “I’m not going to lie. I talked to Bane after the play, and he told me he was intentionally trying to foul me. I honestly don’t know how they didn’t see that. Obviously, they must not have had the right view, or they weren’t paying attention. But they missed it.”

Kidd said there was “a lot of excitement in the back” as he watched Flagg with a TV delay, hearing the crowd reaction before the buckets as the former Duke standout was 8 of 12 from the field and 4 of 6 from deep in the fourth.

Flagg's previous career high came against former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, the fourth overall pick and fellow contender for rookie of the year.

Kidd continues to stump for Flagg to win the same award Kidd won with the Mavs 31 years ago, and dropped a Michael Jordan reference after Flagg's latest milestone. Yes, Jordan was the 1985 Rookie of the Year.

“He’s the rookie of the year,” Kidd said. “It’s unbelievable. The country’s now watching the same thing we get to watch on a daily basis. He’s in rare air. He’s with the GOAT when you talk about MJ and what he did in his rookie year. And as a teenager, to see what Cooper’s doing, just the excitement, the joy, playing the game, win or lose, his spirit, is about winning. Right now we’re not.”

For at least one night, the rookie overshadowed the long home losing streak, even though he couldn't end it.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) is fouled by Orlando Magic's Jamal Cain, rear, as Flagg sinks a basket for his 50th point of the game late in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) reacts to play as referee Sean Corbin, right, jogs upcourt in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic Friday, April 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, right, is greeted at the bench by assistant coach Frank Vogel, center left, as Orlando Magic's Jase Richardson, left, stands by in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, center, left, talks to Eric Lewis (42) after Kidd was ejected in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic Friday, April 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) and Dwight Powell, right, celebrate a basket by Flagg in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic Friday, April 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)