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STORY: This new housing complex on an island next to Manhattan is ready to shelter as many as 1,000 new migrants.

New York City officials on Tuesday (October 18) gave the media a first look at the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center on Randall's Island.

The Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs for the mayor’s office, Manuel Castro, said New York has long needed a welcome center of this scale for new immigrants and asylum seekers.

“We want to make sure that we're able to meet all their immediate needs, which, as you saw, include medical attention, include rest, an area to rest, to take a shower, and most importantly, a way to connect to their loved ones and friends and to people who might be able to help them to get to their final destination.”

Nearly 20,000 migrants have come to the city since April.

Earlier in October, Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency in response to the thousands of Latin American migrant arrivals being bused to the city in recent months by authorities from the southern U.S. border.

Apart from beds and a dining area, the complex provides phones, laundry machines, and recreation spaces.

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Anne Williams-Isom, who is a daughter of an immigrant, said the center made her feel proud as a New Yorker.

"We are trying to construct for people that we care about in the same way that we wanted that to happen for our family members and for those who are New Yorkers today."

Officials said the facility will open soon as a “short-term solution” for male migrants - until they figure out their next step.