Talking about the Roosevelt Hotel on Telemundo
Often tapped for his knowledge of local historical buildings, Principal Angel Ayón was recently interviewed by Spanish language television station Noticias Telemundo in their report on the Roosevelt Hotel, which aired January 5, 2024.
As Angel explains in the news segment, The Roosevelt Hotel — which lies mere steps from another storied NYC building, Grand Central Terminal — has been a glamorous icon since its opening in 1924. Currently compared to Ellis Island, the building is being used by the City of New York as an intake center for the many thousands of migrants who arrive daily in the US via its southern border. Its grand lobby chandelier, which once illuminated international dignitaries and politicians, now serves as a beacon of hope for South Americans and other immigrants seeking a new life for themselves in the US.
The luxury hotel operator shuttered the building’s doors during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but they’ve now been reopened, ushering in over 85,000 people who have arrived in NYC in recent months. Once a lavish party palace, The Roosevelt Hotel now offers services such as documentation assistance and medical checkups, and acts as a storage and distribution facility for clothing, diapers, milk, and other basic necessities for the migrants and their children.
According to the Telemundo report, the migrant crisis has already cost the city over $200 million. However, as the report highlights, those arriving aren’t looking for handouts, but are rather coming with a “dream to work and aspire to bring their families” here, much like similar arrivals from the European continent did 100 years ago, when the hotel was built.
You can access the full report on the Noticias Telemundo website.