Ida Siegal reports.
What to Know
- New York City is considering possible curfews for migrants currently housed in city shelters.
- This the latest effort to ease symptoms of the migrant crisis -- specifically asylum seekers allegedly going door-to-door begging for cash and food.
- This latest development comes on the heels of the controversial tents at Floyd Bennett Field, which many say are unfit for families.
New York City is considering possible curfews for migrants currently housed in city shelters.
This the latest effort to ease symptoms of the migrant crisis -- specifically asylum seekers allegedly going door-to-door begging for cash and food.
This latest development comes on the heels of the controversial tents at Floyd Bennett Field, which many say are unfit for families.
"I feel for them," Nelson Tung, a Flatlands resident, said. "It’s really, really sad the position that they are in obviously it’s also very difficult in the city right now.”
Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods said they are now seeing migrants knocking on doors, begging for money, clothes, baby strollers, and food. According to Councilwoman Joann Ariola, it’s been happening at night — which is why she has been pushing for an 11 p.m. curfew at all migrants shelters. Ariola said that Mayor Eric Adams' office might be on board with the plan.
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"I mentioned it many times before but this was the first time the response was, 'We’re looking into that.' So I was extremely encouraged," she said.
News
Currently, migrants are able to come and go as they please, but they are dependent on buses that take them to and from remote shelter locations.
In Flatlands, NBC New York heard from more than a dozen people who say migrant mothers with children have been knocking on their doors quite frequently during the day and they want it to stop. None of them agreed to be interviewed on camera, but all of them questioned how a curfew would help with what they calling a daytime problem. Meanwhile, advocates for a curfew point out that other homeless New Yorkers already have one.
"We’re not asking anything of the migrants that are not being asked of New Yorkers that are homeless," Ariola said.
While Tung supports the migrants, he is in favor of the curfew if it’s a solution that will help everyone.
"I think in terms of safety for the migrants, especially themselves, I think it’s probably a good idea," Tung said.
Adams administration spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak would only tell NBC New York that City Hall is considering all options and that no decisions about curfews have been made yet.
