Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Two police officers sustained minor injuries this morning after two asylum seekers tried to cut in line at the reticketing center on Seventh Street and Avenue B.
According to police sources, two officers were stationed at the former St. Brigid School as usual. Trouble started when two men tried to cut in line... causing a fight among the others who had been waiting in the cold for hours. (Sources also said this isn't the first time people tried to cut in line.)
Two officers in the immediate area from the 9th Precinct responded to the scene. Both officers were injured in the fight, one suffering a bloody nose and the other a hyperextended arm. Both were checked out at the station house on Fifth Street before returning to patrol. There wasn't any word of injuries to asylum seekers involved in the skirmish.
Several residents noted a large NYPD presence at the site as more officers arrived following reports of injured officers.
Officials said plans are in place for a more extensive distribution to meet the needs of more asylum seekers.
According to media reports and local elected officials, the line here has grown from a few hundred to several thousand each day "as the city is out of space to house migrants," per CBS 2.
Adult asylum seekers come to the school for placement in city shelters after their 30-day limit expires. Many asylum seekers, carrying all their belongings, start lining up as early as 4 a.m.
Read our previous coverage here.
23 comments:
"police officials also cautioned well-intended residents from leaving items near the property for asylum seekers"
Then have the city stop messing with attempts for orderly charitable distribution of items it should be providing anyway!
Agreed Sarah! I've tried to drop stuff off, only to be turned away. If they collected items on-site, the city could manage the distribution of the goods to the migrants being processed. The city can't seem to get out of its own way!
I have to walk on the other side of 7th street when walking to and from my apartment now. It just doesn’t feel safe anymore. I inquired how long this center will be taking migrants and was told at least another year, or two. This area is unkept, unsanitary and needs constant maintenance and protection. As a resident of this block, I am concerned because we live here, pay expensive rent, and pay taxes. I am sure I will be vilified by other commenters for sounding apathetic. I am not for the record. Everyone deserves food and shelter, especially during winter. But look at what happened today? What’s next? Our mayor is a colossal failure who is incapable of this ongoing dilemma.
I can’t speak to what occurred when the two officers were there, but just before this incidence, there were no officers present and the line jumping that was taking place involved a lot more than two people. This is a nearly daily occurrence. I know when it’s happening just from sound of yelling that occurs. As you can imagine, when desperate men (and they appear to generally be all men) are placed in desperate situations, unsupervised by civil authority, eventually trouble begins.
Sarah:
The NYPD is not really in a position to be able to administer drop-off of contributions.
People need to contact CM Rivera - her office should be the point of contact.
Not task the NYPD.
I don't know that apathetic is the word I would use. Entitled and precious work better.
Entitled and precious? Come on. I'm sorry but I agree with @11:13 P.M. I don't think it's unreasonable to be concerned that there are, daily, hundreds of cold, tired, hungry, angry, desperate men clustered in our neighborhood. Angry, desperate men do angry, desperate things. Everyone deserves to feel safe, including people who live and pay rent in this neighborhood. That said, EVERYONE deserves to feel safe, including these men. The city has absolutely failed them, and us, by choosing a small, residential area for this center, and then absolutely mismanaging it at every level. Where was Carlina Rivera when this all occurred? Where was Adams? Why wasn't this prevented? They are trying to force these men out through this deliberate mismanagement but they are not going! And so something else needs to be done to help them while they're here. In a way that truly helps them AND keeps residents co concerns in mind. Everything is not always so black and white, all or nothing.
On Friday morning there was loud chanting as I walked down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. I am sure many were tired, hungry and just wanted somewhere to sleep with a small bed with a pillow. Every human should be entitled to that at least. I heard these young men literally screaming with my air pods in and had no idea what was going on. Usually there is some form of police presence, but I didn't see it during this instance. Sometimes I wonder if a brawl could happen. I read over 400 migrants were in line waiting to be placed for shelter. That is distressing given how many are in need of help.
NYC is in peril due to the substantial cuts to all departments which keeps the boroughs operating on a functional level. And yes, I am reminded of my privilege as an educated, white middle aged male professional when I pass the center on my way to work, and wonder if any type of resources are being distributed properly, or if at all. My friend was turned away when attempting to donate clothing and food items. They were instructed to pass it individually, but didn't want to because there wasn't enough to go around, and was afraid a fight might ensue.
Our federal and state governments are failing individuals with false, empty promises of assistance and prosperity upon arrival to the US when sadly both branches are unable to address the needs of their own citizens by offering a living wage, affordable housing, and some form of universal health care. At least in Europe, where one pays higher taxes, so much is given in return to the people in the form of social benefits. You don't make as much money, but there is a certain level of comfort afforded to its citizens. I wish that almost a trillion dollars wasn't allocated for our national defense, but here we are. Just think how that money would change so many lives. These migrants are in search of a better outcome, and are soon discovering it isn't as accessible or plausible as it seems.
This neighborhood has been kind and welcoming but the city doesn't reciprocate. It's not that hard to get the staff to pick up trash along the sidewalk at the end of each day.
Yes being a law abiding, taxpaying US citizen makes one entitled. Asking for basic public safety and sanitation s somehow bad. This situation is a disaster and getting worse daily. But concerned local residents are the problem. SMH.
That you choose to pay expensive rent to a landlord has nothing to do with the conditions of the neighborhood. It is reasonable to need additional monitoring of a space where many people are made to wait in intolerably cold conditions without a way to stay warm. This is really the problem that the city needs to solve.
They need an indoor waiting space or a way to give out numbers or approximate times for those who show up so they don’t all have to hang around in the cold for ages.
Also what about the “open streets” ave b project from DOT? There are several people paid to
Keep avenue B clean for businesses and landlords that don’t want to do their requirement of keeping the sidewalks clean. Surely they could assist a little to clean up more of the city’s mess here as part of their route as it’s on Ave B.
It is reasonable to ask the city to do more and keep the area clean and more assistance. Rather than writing what you did above ask who you can reach out to in the city or join the efforts of those trying to make this corner better for all. I believe there is a meeting coming up of neighbors.
You do sound apathetic… because you are. At least you realize that. Hope you sleep well and hope you never find yourself in a position where people don’t care about you.
"It's not that hard to get the staff to pick up trash along the sidewalk at the end of each day."
The staff at the reticketing outpost? I imagine that this center is understaffed and overworked, and getting those workers to pick up trash along the sidewalk at the end of each day seems to be asking a bit much to me.
Re: not being able to drop-off clothing and donations
I've volunteered for years at a family shelter.
Though families need things, it is difficult to deal with donations because: there is no space to store or display it; staff don't have time to go through donations and sort-organize; and often the donated clothing is in poor shape and not usable.
In NYC where there is so little space, IMO the best approach is an organized "free store" with focused space/resources - such as the one that existed on 40th Street before there was flooding.
I believe some organizations are doing this like Upper West Side St. Paul & Andrew
If you think paying rent, especially "expensive" rent, or happening to have won the lottery of being born a citizen should make you particularly privileged in neighborhood life, yes, you are thinking wrong. The city (not the NYPD on its own, 9:07 am, reading is fundamental) should be providing security and meeting the material needs of the asylum-seekers for the safety and benefit of *both* the asylum-seekers and *all* neighborhood residents. It is, frankly, shameful to come to a neighborhood that has always been home to poor immigrants and talk like your "expensive" rent should entitle you to be shielded from the sight of human suffering.
The city, and its no-compete contractors, has interfered with charitable attempts to help the asylum-seekers in an organized way since they opened the center, as this very blog has tenaciously reported. That has to stop. Adams is a fool to start with, but hiring incompetent petty authoritarians to handle difficult tasks has only made it worse.
I saw there is a meeting this evening Sunday 6pm at Earth Church (Ave C & 3rd st). Concerned neighbors are gathering to see what they can all do if they work together. This would be a good opportunity for all who have commented here. (I saw this in the FB East Village Neighbors NYC group.)
Sarah you are precisely and succinctly correct and you should run for office. Seriously.
Sarah,
Might you share some of your efforts to support the migrants and message the Mayor and other elected officials?
This post has circulated a lot of different points of view. I respect and agree with many on both sides of the spectrum. Why doesn't Adams just address the community in person by holding a public forum next to the center in front of concerned residents to assuage our doubts and fears? Because he can't be bothered. I do care about the migrants and hope they are able to access immediate shelter. I can also care about my fellow neighbors along with the safety and sanitation of this street I call home without being declared a privileged asshole immune to the suffering of others.
4:28 PM, too many skeletons in my closet. :)
6:29 PM, what the city should be doing is independent of what I, a mere private citizen, have done, but I have in fact brought multiple bags of useful items over for the distributions organized by Harvey Epstein's office earlier this year, and I continue to donate to EVLovesNYC, which does great work for both the asylum-seekers and other people with food insecurity in the city.
I'm happy someone finally called out the Federal government and their culpability in this mess. Adams in in over his head but the ones with the real expertise are no where to be found.
As a woman, I don't feel safe walking in my neighborhood anymore with groups of 8-10 men on every corner. I've been leered at and catcalled on multiple occassions since they opened St.Brigid's for this purpose. Why cant the city open more re-ticketing centers in less residential locations? Why is this the only one? Something needs to be done taking into account public health and safety or it's only a matter of time before more serious trouble occurs.
Exactly. I don't know why womens' concerns about having hundreds of additional men in the neighborhood every single day (especially angry men) is seen as hateful or privileged or conservative. It's hard enough to walk around alone as a woman on a normal day, let alone being harassed and catcalled by dozens of men on every corner. I don't know why St. Brigid's became the site for this. Why on this small street in this small neighborhood? Move it to an empty office building in midtown or something!
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