Fox guest advocates putting migrants in Rikers Island Jail
John Catsimatidis: “Rikers Island, there's nothing wrong with the place, and they could be housed there — you know what the most important thing is — without inconveniencing New Yorkers”
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From the August 8, 2023, edition of Fox News' America Reports
JOHN CATSIMATIDIS (GUEST): We love New York and we don't want to see this happening to New York. They tried to do that in Orchard Beach a few months ago, put up tents there, and then they tore them down. Randalls Island, there's no need to do that. My advice to Mayor Adams, let's build them on Rikers Island. You have 30,000 empty jail cells there. Take the cells off, give them a bed, give them whatever else they want, food and bedding. And Rikers Island, you could put 30,000 migrants there. Why aren't we putting them there?
SMITH: You've got the mayor's ear. I mean, what does he say when you approach him?
CATSIMATIDIS: Well, I said that to him, I'll say it to him again but Rikers Island has all the room in the world and you don't have to inconvenience our school kids, you don't have to inconvenience our soccer kids. It makes sense.
SMITH: Yeah. This is the cover of the New York Post today, I mean people are up in arms in this city, they see what's going on; crime is spiking, you see hotels getting taken over with the migrants, they're spilling out in the streets, business owners are saying they are having a hard time. You talk to people coming and going from their businesses to Grand Central. This is changing the way of life in the city right now. They are taking over the rec center in Brooklyn, the tents are returning to Randalls Island, they are kicking the kids out for these soccer fields. I mean this is a city, we have to remind everybody, a sanctuary city that said we would welcome all these people with open arms. Well, city hall says the biggest wave is coming yet.
CATSIMATIDIS: Well, when we said that, a sanctuary city, where 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 but not 100,000. You know, and look, Rikers Island there's nothing wrong with the place and they could be housed there — you know what the most important thing is — without inconveniencing New Yorkers.