Dozens of migrants are stamping their feet at having to trade in their free digs at a three-star Manhattan hotel for hangar-like living conditions in Brooklyn — and it’s little wonder.
The Watson Hotel on West 57th Street, where they have been housed courtesy of the city, is a prime location in Manhattan, easily accessible to stores and even jobs, migrants said.
They said they were no more than two to a room — sometimes enjoying the entire space themselves, including a private bathroom and shower.
A two-trip MetroCard was provided to each of them daily, too, an immigrant said.
But to ease a space crunch, the city is trying to move those who are single men to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook.
While the facility boasts stunning views of the water, the shelter space, designed to house 1,000 people, is not so glamourous.
The terminal’s massive open area is filled with hundreds of cots next to each other, covered by a green blanket and featuring a single white pillow, according to video provided to The Post on Monday.
The bathrooms are clean but communal, each featuring eight toilets and four sinks. City Hall sources said there were around 85 or 90 total commodes.
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Many migrants have griped about the lack of heat and privacy in the facility and its relative remoteness from city life.
The cruise terminal is not serviced by the subway, but migrants are provided ferry fare.
And forget about private showers. The men have to leave the main facility and enter mobile trailers outside to find a shower stall, but only if they make a reservation first.
“The cruise ship terminal is better than the homeless shelter, where there were a lot of crazy American men and American men on drugs,’’ said a 42-year-old migrant from Venezuela.
“But the cruise ship terminal is not as good as the hotel.’’
City Hall Press Secretary Fabian Levy told The Post on Monday, “This weekend, we began the process of moving single adult men from the Watson Hotel to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, as we transition the hotel to meet the large number of asylum-seeking families with children.”
“More than 43,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since last spring and we continue to surpass our moral obligations as we provide asylum seekers with shelter, food, health care, education, and a host of other services.”
“The facilities at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal will provide the same services as every other humanitarian relief center in the city, and the scheduled relocations to Brooklyn Cruise Terminal this weekend took place as planned. We remain in serious need of support from both our state and federal governments.”
