EXCLUSIVE: Drone footage shows massive size of NYC's Randall's Island migrant facility to cope with migrant influx that costs the city nearly $10million a day

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Drone footage reveals the sheer scale of a huge ‘tent city’ that’s under construction in New York City to deal with a massive influx of migrants.

Work was well underway Wednesday on a shelter roughly the length of two football fields, which will accommodate up to 2,000 migrants. Foundations were in place at the site that indicated several more of the massive structures will be built.

The huge facility is under construction on Randall's Island as Mayor Eric Adams' administration is forced to take increasingly radical measures to handle tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in the city in recent months.

Adams said the site, staff and maintenance costs will all be paid for with state funds after he reached an agreement with Governor Kathy Hochul to fund the facility. 

The mayor recently said the migrant crisis in New York costs the city nearly $10 million per day.

Work was well underway Wednesday on a Randall's Island shelter roughly the length of two football fields, which will accommodate up to 2,000 migrants

The huge facility is under construction as Mayor Eric Adams' administration is forced to take increasingly radical measures to handle tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in the city in recent months

It’s the second time Randall's Island, which sits just across the East River from Manhattan’s Upper East Side, has been used for a migrant facility

On Wednesday, around 50 construction workers on Randall's Island were building a frame for one of the enormous white tents that will take up the Randall's Island site. Roof panels had also been placed on the structure.

Work is believed to have started earlier this week after reports on Friday the city had earmarked the site for the facility. Foundations were in place for at least two more tents.

It’s the second time Randall's Island, which sits just across the East River from Manhattan’s Upper East Side, has been used for a migrant facility. A temporary site was placed on the island for about a month late last year.

A fleet of heavy machinery was also on location at the construction project on Wednesday to transport the vast quantities of building materials that are needed for the facility.

Several men in hi-vis jackets and hard hats stood guard at a security checkpoint at the site entrance, occasionally opening up the steel barriers to allow deliveries and other vehicles into the site. None of the men would discuss the timeline of the project and workmen inside the site were also tight-lipped.

The facility covers the entire length of two AstroTurf soccer fields and it’s thought four fields in total have been earmarked as the site for the facility

Around 50 construction workers on Randall's Island were building a frame for one of the enormous white tents that will take up the Randall's Island site

Work is believed to have started earlier this week after reports on Friday the city had earmarked the site for the facility

But the 2,000 migrants that can be housed at Randall’s Island is just a fraction of the roughly 60,000 that are in the city’s care 

The facility covers the entire length of two AstroTurf soccer fields and it’s thought four fields in total have been earmarked as the site for the facility.

‘As the number of asylum seekers in our care continues to grow by hundreds every day, stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond, it has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night,' Adams said. 

But the 2,000 migrants that can be housed at Randall’s Island is just a fraction of the roughly 60,000 that are in the city’s care.

Workers must also add the extensive infrastructure required to accommodate thousands of people, including running water, showers and restrooms.

The influx to New York City continued this week when at least six busloads of migrants were brought to the Roosevelt Hotel, in Midtown Manhattan, overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday.

A large migrant family arrived with their bags at the Roosevelt Hotel on Wednesday

Over the past few months, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bused nearly 10,000 migrants into the Big Apple

There are already more than 57,000 migrants sleeping in city shelters and emergency housing system

The 1,000-room hotel closed during COVID and is now used by the city to house asylum seekers.

The hotel has served as a processing center, and last week, it became the epicenter of the country's migrant crisis. Hundreds of asylum seekers lined the sidewalks outside the facility in the summer heat as the hotel had reached capacity. 

There are already more than 57,000 migrants sleeping in city shelters and emergency housing systems, and more were seen being bused into the city on Wednesday.

Over the past few months, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bused nearly 10,000 migrants into the Big Apple. 

Adams held a briefing on Wednesday as he pleaded with federal officials for more support and money to help New York City handle the crisis.

'We are facing an unprecedented state of emergency,' Adams declared.'The immigration system in this country is broken, it has been broken for decades.

'Today, New York City has been left to pick up the pieces.'

City officials had previously estimated the city would spend about $4.3billion by the end of the 2024 fiscal year in July on housing, feeding and providing services to migrant families.

Since then, however, the number of migrants coming into the city has skyrocketed and city officials are now spending an average of $9.8million each day - or more than $300 million per month.

By July 2024, the city is now expected to spend as much as $6.1billion.

'New Yorkers' compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not,' Adams said Wednesday. 'And our partners at the state and federal levels know this.'