Home Forums Long Island & Eastern New York Soccer Message Boards BOTN Main Message Board MSC Alert - Please Preserve Randall's 82-85 for NYC's Children

Dear MSC Families,

We are writing to share important information and ask for your help. 

Some of you may have heard about the City’s plan to construct a shelter on Randall’s Island Park’s East River Fields (Fields 82-85) to address our City’s challenges in housing migrants. If this plan goes through, youth and community sports programming, along with NYC public and private after-school sports, will be significantly impacted. Randall’s Island Park is crucial to our functioning, and we count upon these fields to conduct our programs serving over 1300 children. We acknowledge that the challenges of migrant housing are complicated, yet we don’t believe the solutions should come with the expense of limiting spaces for our City’s youth.  

How does this impact us?

The closure of Fields 82-85 would impact our weekend scheduling as we would have to find alternative field locations for practices and/or games. While our weekday practices are typically held on other fields, there is the potential for knock-on effects from having fewer playing fields available for other City organizations. In addition, traffic in/out flow, available parking spaces, and other resources at Randall’s Island are likely to be impacted. We also do not know if the Island would remain accessible by means of the footbridge.

What are we doing?  

Please know that we are working tirelessly to address this issue head-on. We have reached out to the Mayor’s office to object to this plan strenuously. We are also looking into other legal and non-legal measures to the fullest extent possible. Lastly, we are speaking with local politicians and other community leaders who can potentially help us in voicing a stronger objection to the City.  

In parallel, we are also looking into backup facilities to ensure that our teams can maintain normal schedules at other locations. Our coaches are preparing for potential last-minute field changes to ensure and we will do our best to prepare for issues as they arise. 

We acknowledge that this may be a major inconvenience to our families, yet we hope you can understand that these matters were unexpected and completely out of our hands.  

How can you help?

One of the strengths of our organization is our community and our ability to come together in challenging circumstances. We are asking everyone to voice their support to preserve the playing fields at Randalls Island not only for Manhattan SC but for all users - public and private schools, after-school and community programs, as well as other athletic organizations.

1. Sending a letter to the Mayor’s office [for your convenience, here is a Sample Letter to Mayor and others that you can use.
2. Contacting your city, state, and federal representatives on this matter using our  NYC Political Contacts List)
3. Spread the word to other impacted families and organizations
4. Signing a petition Preserve Randall's 80s for NYC Children

We thank all of you for your support in this matter and hope that we can have some clarity soon. 

On behalf of the Manhattan SC Board and Staff

We appreciate your help.

Loryn Bergman
MSC Board President

Rich Corvino
MSC Executive Director

Eddie Sutton
MSC Operations Director

Unfortunately you get what you vote for. Also unfortunately people will never wake up and will keep getting what they vote for. I feel bad for the kids bc their parents vote with blindness and ignorance

Once again, law abiding, tax paying residents and middle american soccer families getting screwed because of bad policies. I feel for Manhatten

Manhattan, you get what you voted for---this is what a sanctuary city does!!! You wanted migrants, well now you have them. Now you care because it affects your children. All NYC, remove your [****] blinders!!!!

*Manhattan

The condition of those fields are dangerous to play on. They need to resurface those fields. Manhattan SC is a non profit with millions of dollars. They get those fields for Pennies. Why don't they turf and light some of the grass fields at Randall's?

Sucks for you liberals love sanctuary cities until they hit their neighborhood

You voted for this in the city! Now you want our help! Elections have consequences and maybe you will vote to protect our country and constitution next time. This is gonna happen and nothing you can do about it. Say good bye to your fields.

The posts attached to this post is truly sickening. W(ho)TF do you people think you are trashing these unfortunate people looking to save themselves and seeking a better life?

The club doesn't own the fields, the City of New York does.

Aww, poor republicans can't understand why people dont love them. You are looking at why...

I’m surprised Larry even posted this Alert! They voted for this to happen

They did? When? Was it a special election?

U already forgot

Where in this thread did anyone trash migrants? People stated since NYC is a sanctuary city, there are consequences. The voting public of NYC are in favor of taking in migrants, now they have them and are now complaining? Set up shelters in Union Square Park and the downtown area along with prospect park.

Migrant shelter for 2,000 men to be built starting as early as Monday on NYC’s Randall’s Island soccer fields
By Bernadette Hogan and Isabel Keane
August 7, 2023 3:32pm Updated

NYC officials expect ‘thousands’ of migrant students to arrive in next couple weeks: source
NYers are right to be furious about their sacrifices to accommodate migrants

Officials have confirmed a migrant shelter will be built for 2,000 men on Randall’s Island’s kiddie soccer fields, with construction starting as early as Monday.

The influx of migrants to New York City — including hundreds arriving daily — is “stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

“It has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night,” he said.

Hizzoner said the state would be “covering the costs” of the shelter’s construction, maintenance and staffing, although officials have yet to say how much that will be.

The city last built a shelter for migrants on the island off Manhattan in October — spending at least $625,000 — only to shut it down within a matter of weeks because of reported lack of use, given its relatively isolated location.

A Randall’s Island source said the city informed local officials Monday morning that it was erecting the massive makeshift shelter on athletic Fields 82, 83, 84 and 85 — with “construction slated to begin as early as today.”

Randall's Island
Mayor Eric Adams on Monday confirmed that the city will build a massive migrant shelter on Randall’s Island.

gotta love the LI trash... 90% of your ancestors are migrants who came to the sanctuary city of NY and stayed.
but yeah you're better than them.

Larry your board is a cesspool wether it's soccer or politics, I'm sure you started it with good intentions but it's a sad
sad place now.

90% of ancestors are migrants, you may be right, but did they all the free social services back then? Who gave them free housing, food, medical, education? No one did you buffoon!!! Those social services were not available years ago. Prove me wrong!

We treated them like [****] also. Seems we’re real good at that, treating new immigrants like [****]. Does that make it right to do it now?

We used to follow the constitution also. Correct me if I’m wrong, but we accept a million migrants a year into this country legally. This is an invasion of any and everybody from all over the world illegally.

​Dear MSC Families

On Thursday, August 3, we notified you that the City of New York planned to convert Randall's Island Fields 82-83-84-85 from athletic fields into a shelter for asylum-seekers.

We asked you to reach out to the Mayor's Office as well as members of the City Council, NYC Parks, and the Office of Asylum-Seeker Operation via letters, emails, and a petition imploring the City to find a better solution for the asylum seekers as well as the thousands of children who use these fields and the organizations, schools, and communities they represent. Your support and that of others in our community, including the Randall's Island Park Alliance, Yorkville Youth Athletic Association, Downtown United Soccer Club, the Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League, and West Side Soccer League, was both positive and overwhelming.

On Monday, August 7, construction of the HERC facility on the fields began and is well underway. The fields are closed for the foreseeable future, and we must redirect our efforts, just like the players we teach, to find and create space together as a team to surmount the challenges and make the best of the situation. There are many unknowns as NYC Parks contends with the loss of over 3000 hours of permitted time this fall (just weeks before the season) - a massive task that will resonate throughout the Parks system both on and off the Island.

What we are doing:
Working with Randall's Island Park Alliance to help identify locations on the Island that can be converted to soccer space this fall
We are advocating for temporary lighting at additional fields on the Island to extend usable hours.
Continuing to identify workable alternative off-island space as needed.

How you can help:
Please get in touch with that same group of local and NYC officials (and anyone else you know in City Government) and ask the City of New York to fully fund the restoration (returfing) of the athletic fields whenever the shelter is removed.
In addition - please ask the City of New York to fully fund the conversion of grass fields 80, 81, and 71 to turf as soon as possible after the fall season. This will create additional reliable space necessary in the spring and a long-term benefit for future generations of children and adults.

Thank you again for your support as we look forward to the fall. Please continue to advocate for Randall's Island Park, NY City Parks, and the children and adults they serve so well across the city. We are never better than when working together.


On behalf of the Manhattan SC Board and Staff

Loryn Bergman
MSC Board President

Rich Corvino
MSC Executive Director

Eddie Sutton
MSC Operations Director