New York City fire prevention inspectors checking a tip about a collection of e-bike batteries posing a potential hazard discovered 40 migrants sleeping in a Queens basement behind a furniture store, according to three city officials and the landlord.
When they entered to investigate the reported fire risk at the South Richmond Hill home on Liberty Avenue, inspectors were surprised to find the migrants in cramped conditions, the officials said.
Further investigation revealed that 74 people had been living in the basement, reportedly sleeping in shifts to accommodate everyone, the landlord told NBC New York.
According to the Department of Buildings, when inspectors arrived, 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.” In addition, inspectors found that plumbing work was done without permits and that there was no means of exiting, ventilation or natural sunlight for the migrants living there.
Officials said the fire department issued a full vacate order for the premises. The Department of Buildings also issued a vacate order because of unsafe conditions found at the basement, including overcrowding and fire hazards identified by the fire department. The city’s Office of Emergency Management referred people in need of shelter for further assistance.
The shocking discovery came after a neighbor called 311 to report e-bikes parked near the side of her property, and fire inspectors looked into that complaint. The neighbor told NBC New York she was scared for her and her family’s safety because of the recent fires due to defective lithium-ion batteries that garnered headlines.
The landlord, who is also a migrant, said he felt sorry for the migrants, most of whom are from Africa, who were trying to make a living here but had difficulty finding shelter after the city limited how long single migrants can stay in city-run shelters to 30 days. Although they can reapply for shelter at a re-ticketing center in the East Village, the landlord said that the migrants he was helping were tired of waiting and sleeping outdoors and that this was the best option he could provide for them. The landlord stressed that the city was not providing another alternative for the men who had nowhere else to go.
The landlord said the basement with beds was the best he could provide. The migrants apparently slept in shifts and had access to only two bathrooms, although the landlord said he was in the process of finding portable toilets to better accommodate them.
An influx of migrants that has strained the city’s shelter system.
