For the second time in as many days, police uncovered an illegal makeshift migrant shelter housing dozens of people inside a commercial business, this time in the Bronx.
Inspectors with the Department of Buildings were called Wednesday afternoon to investigate reports of an illegal conversion inside a two-story commercial building on East Kingsbridge Road in the Fordham neighborhood. After arriving, they found that one of the stores in the building had been converted into illegal sleeping quarters.
The DOB said there were 34 beds found on the first floor, and another 11 beds tightly packed together in the basement. Inspectors also found extension cords, e-bikes, space heaters and hotplates on both floors.
A vacate order was issued due to what the DOB said were "hazardous, life-threatening conditions" inside the building, as well as a lack of natural light and ventilation, as well as severe overcrowding.
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An official with the city's Office of Emergency Management said they were coordinating a response to the situation, assessing any urgent needs of those living at the illegal shelter. They would also facilitate referrals to asylum seeker services if necessary.
Some of the migrant men who had been living inside the building were seen later in the evening collecting their belongings and loading them onto a bus. One of those residents said he and around 50 roommates would shower at a gym across the street.
Those who lived in the area said the illegal shelter was no secret. A neighbor who spoke with the men daily said they had been paying around $300-$600 a month to stay there.
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"It wasn't safe down there," he said, referring to the basement where some of the beds were found. "No toilet, no bath, no nothing."
The landlord was issued two violations for failure to maintain the building and for occupying the building contrary to city records. It is the same landlord who operated a similar illegal shelter for migrants at a furniture store in South Richmond Hill, in Queens.
On Tuesday, the DOB ordered Sarr's Wholesale Furniture vacated due to “severe overcrowding and hazardous fire trap conditions," and further investigation revealed 74 individuals had been living in the basement, reportedly sleeping in shifts to accommodate everyone, according to the landlord who spoke with NBC New York.
When inspectors arrived on scene, they "found that the first floor commercial space in the building and the cellar had been illegally converted into sleeping quarters, with 14 bunk beds and 13 bed tightly packed on both floors." Additionally, inspectors found that plumbing work was done without permits and there was no means of exiting, ventilation or natural sunlight for the migrants living there.
Ebou Sarr, a migrant himself who runs the furniture store, said he felt sorry for the migrants, most of whom are from his native Senegal in West Africa and were trying to make a living in the U.S. — but had difficulty finding a shelter after the city limited the amount of time that single migrants can stay in city-run shelters to 30 days.
"When they started coming to me, telling me their stories, I started helping them. I didn't want to do it. I thought about it twice," said Sarr. "It broke my heart but I'm proud of them, they're all hard-working people."
He added that the basement shelter had rules, like no cooking on-site. Residents paid what they could each month for a place to sleep, and got breakfast, lunch and dinner provided by Sarr.
“They’re my people. I have to do something about it, so I started taking them in,” Sarr tearfully said outside the shop. "The city is saying they have no place for these people. It's not true...This is what we're trying to avoid, for them to be out in the cold."
The shocking discovery came after a neighbor called 311 to report e-bikes parked near the side of her property and FDNY inspectors looked into that complaint. The neighbor told NBC New York she was scared for her and her family's safety due to the recent fires that broke out due to defective lithium-ion batteries that garnered headlines.
The neighbor said she believes the unsanctioned migrant shelter in Queens had been running for at least two months.
