Mayor Eric Adams is finalizing a deal with the Norwegian Cruise Line to house migrants on one of its massive cruise ships and dock it at Staten Island’s Homeport, The Post has learned.
Adams wants to lease the luxury liner for at least six months and use it to house and process migrants before they enter the city’s shelter system, a source familiar with the matter said.
The migrants would be allowed to come and go while staying on the ship, the source said.
Preliminary estimates show the plan will be “cheaper” than erecting another tent city similar to the one the city plans to open in The Bronx at the Orchard Beach parking lot, the source said.
The tent city, now under construction, is expected to cost $15 million a month to operate, The Post exclusively reported last week.
It’s unclear whether Adams has already struck a deal to use the Homeport, a former naval station on the eastern shore of Staten Island between the St. George Ferry Terminal and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
But the source said the Adams administration has talked to officials on Staten Island about the plan.
“I knew this was a possibility but until Biden shuts off the border I am not sure how we can continue to accommodate these people without taking over every inch of parkland with tent cities. This arguably may be a more reasonable way to cope with the crisis than people might think,” said Councilman Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island).
