New York City has terminated its $220 million lease with the Roosevelt Hotel, owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), following criticism over taxpayer funds being used to house asylum seekers.
Mayor Eric Adams cited a sharp drop in migrant arrivals—from 4,000 per week in 2023 to just 350 per week now—as the reason for closing the Asylum Seeker Arrival Center and the emergency shelter at the hotel.
The Roosevelt Hotel had been leased in June 2023 for three years, housing tens of thousands of migrants at an estimated $200 per night. The hotel’s future remains uncertain, with previous discussions about joint ventures and privatization still unresolved.
