The influx of illegal immigrants into New York over the past two years has significantly changed the quality of life for workers and residents in ZIP codes where shelters are overflowing, they told The Washington Post.
“This place is overpopulated. [with migrants] “It’s a concern,” said Maria Katirtzoglou, 38, who works at a Long Island City engineering firm next door to a hotel on Crescent Street that’s been converted into a migrant shelter.
“It’s a concern for people who were born and raised here, people who own property here, because people who own property don’t like it when they see all this stuff coming in,” she said. “I don’t feel safe in the area at night… It’s not safe. There are robberies, knives, you know, people bringing out knives, all sorts of things.”
In the 114th Precinct, which serves the overflowing shelter area where she works, reported robberies, assaults and other “serious” crimes increased 12.3% in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2022. That’s a stark difference from the 0.5% decrease in serious crime citywide over the same period. According to the records.
Complaints City 311 Hotline The number of migrant shelters in the 11101 zip code has also surged since Texas Governor Greg Abbott began bussing illegal border crossers to New York and other blue states with sanctuary policies in the spring of 2022, with 15,256 people housed there by the end of June, a 42% increase from the 10,745 in the first half of 2022. Records show that 11101 is home to 24 migrant shelters, 23 of which are in LIC, the most of any zip code in New York City.
Shawan Shields, 50, who lives in Queensbridge Houses, said parents were afraid to take their children to local parks and playgrounds because migrants usually race electric scooters there or engage in sex acts.
“This is not a third world country,” Shields said. “We can’t just let anyone come into our neighborhood and do whatever they want!”
Stuart Graber, 82, and his son Doug, 51, said the introduction of migrant shelters at LIC was a major blow to the community.
Since 1998, the father-son duo has run a successful wooden box manufacturing business out of an office building they own on 10th Avenue.
But they’re considering moving after a former Holiday Inn across the street started housing immigrants, and they claim their new neighbors have routinely taken over the block and engaged in a variety of illicit activities, including using propane tanks to light dangerous barbecues next to the plywood the Gravers store for their business.
“We called the police, they removed them, but the next day they were back,” Stuart sighed.
Doug said the migrants “party every day, so there are containers of beer and food everywhere.”
“This is our business… We have people coming in through the front door; [so] That’s not a very professional way to do things,” he added.
On Thursday, a Post reporter saw immigrant men zooming boldly down 10th Avenue on mopeds and pickup trucks. Others sat in clusters on the streets and sidewalks littered with cigarette packs and food containers. A young boy getting a haircut on the sidewalk looked on.
In Jamaica, one resident said his neighborhood has become an absolute nightmare since a migrant shelter opened three doors down on Liberty Street, with many of the new arrivals spending their days outside drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.
Some had been kicked out of the shelter, formerly known as the Van Wyck Hotel, for bad behavior but would later return in their cars, park on the street and sleep there, videographer Craig Richardson recalled.
“I don’t know where they get the money to buy a car,” said Richardson, 53. “And when they need to go to the bathroom, where do they go? In my backyard!”
He also blames immigrants for littering city blocks with all kinds of rubbish, attracting “giant rats.”
“I get fined for trash collection because I throw trash everywhere,” Richardson said. “If I don’t have kids, why do I have dirty baby diapers in front of my house? I’m picking up beer bottles, marijuana bags, diapers.”
In Midtown, Angelica Cisneros, who works at a salad bar next to the migrant shelter on 47th Street (formerly known as the Econo Lodge Times Square Hotel), said the new tenants – even if they are paying customers – are bad for business.
“They smoke, they’re messy, they hang around every day,” said Cisneros, 40. “It’s a pain because we have to clean the tables all the time, and some of them are rude.”
Over the past year, Midtown has seen a series of violent clashes between immigrants and police, including a clash at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in May and a vicious attack on two NYPD officers by a group of immigrants in Times Square in February.
The stark disparity in quality of life between the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side was a revelation to longtime residents who were told about data obtained by The Washington Post showing stark disparities in the placement of migrant shelters in New York City.
While there are eight migrant shelters in the UWS zip code, there is only one shelter on the UES: the once-luxury Bentley Hotel on E. 62nd.and street.
“People who live on the Upper West Side are frustrated because they can just cross the block and get through in five or 10 minutes. [Central] “When I’m in the park, I feel like I’m in another city,” said Maria D’Anziello, 67, a UWS activist.
“It’s much more likely that people will feel unsafe on the West Side because of the shelter in place. It shouldn’t be like two cities separated by a park, where one feels safe and the other doesn’t.”
UWS residents say complaints from neighbors include immigrants illegally racing mopeds, drinking alcohol and smoking large amounts of marijuana in public, illegally selling fruit and other food on busy roads and demanding cash from outdoor diners.
But City Council Member Gayle Brewer, a Democrat who represents the UWS, said she was well aware of the complaints but insisted the historically liberal council member was “handling them pretty well.”
Sean Hill, co-founder of the Greater Harlem Coalition, said he and his Upper Manhattan neighbors are frustrated by the city’s failure to equitably create shelters to house immigrants.
“Just as we want our world-class sports facilities and beautiful bike paths and parks, we want other communities to have their fair share of some of our less popular public infrastructure,” Hill said. “We get our fair share of schools and fire stations. Why can’t we do the same with evacuation shelters?”
“No area, be it a council district or a senatorial district, should act as a containment area for undesirable public infrastructure in the city,” he added.
City Councilman Keith Powers (D-Manhattan), who represents parts of Midtown where many migrant shelters are located, agreed.
“We recognize that a national crisis has hit New York City and a lot has had to be done quickly, but the burden of this crisis should not be borne by one neighborhood alone,” said Powers, whose 10036 ZIP code in Midtown West has eight shelters.
Some City Council members who represent areas with few or no shelters declined to be interviewed, fearing that talking about the issue would draw attention and lead Mayor Eric Adams to open more shelters in their areas.
But mayoral spokeswoman Liz Garcia insisted the Adams administration is committed to making fair decisions about where to place the shelters.
“With more than 65,300 migrants currently in our custody, and an average of more than 1,000 continuing to arrive each week, we have used every space in New York City to protect asylum seekers with compassion and fairness, but given the nature of this emergency, we have prioritized spaces that are practical, efficient and cost-effective,” she said.
