The New York state Office of Emergency Management may shelter up to 200 migrants in facilities at Riverbank State Park starting this summer, according to a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul and Jackie Bray, the commissioner of the New York state division of homeland security and emergency services, from Community Board 9 Chair Barry Weinberg in opposition to the tentative plan.

With Minouche Shafik officially set to take on the presidency of Columbia University this summer, West Harlem community leaders have expressed hope that the leadership change may usher in a new and more constructive relationship between the University and neighboring communities.

New York state and city officials sent a joint letter on Friday to University President Lee Bollinger and Provost Mary Boyce in support of the Red Balloon Learning Center, calling Columbia’s plans to evict the preschool in August 2023 “unacceptable.”