(New York) A clandestine dormitory housing up to 70 migrants was discovered during a fire control operation in a small business in a working-class neighborhood of New York, the authorities announced on Tuesday, symbol of a reception crisis in the American megalopolis.
The owner of the place, who introduced himself as Ebou Sarr, a 47-year-old Senegalese who had arrived in New York a long time ago, himself explained that he welcomed up to “around 74 people”, the vast majority also coming from from Senegal.
He assured that he was seeking to help companions without a solution for housing, while New York is struggling to welcome tens of thousands of new arrivals.
Firefighters discovered the scene Monday evening, in the borough of Queens, after a complaint from the neighborhood regarding a pile of electric bikes in a courtyard.
These two wheels, having multiplied with home delivery services, have become dangerous due to their large number and the poor maintenance of their batteries, which have already led to several fatal fires in recent months in New York.
“During the inspection, units discovered dangerous living conditions with approximately 40 beds on the ground floor and in the cellar,” firefighters told reporters.
“The commercial space on the first floor of the building and the cellar had been illegally transformed into dormitories, with 14 bunk beds and 13 beds pressed against each other on the two floors,” added the inspection service for its part. buildings in the city.
Plagued by a recurring housing and cost of living crisis, which has worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, New York, which has 8.5 million inhabitants, has also been facing for month to an emergency situation to accommodate tens of thousands of asylum seekers crossing the US border with Mexico.
The city has requisitioned hotels and built sites to house more than 160,000 migrants since spring 2022, 68,000 of whom were still housed by the city as of January. Stricter rules have been put in place, with reception now limited to 30 days for single adults, 60 for families, a period after which migrants must reapply.
“What we discovered last night is also a symptom of a broader housing shortage crisis, which we have already talked about many times,” the Democratic deputy mayor of New York commented to the media. York Housing Officer, Maria Torres-Springer.