Ten migrants have been charged with assault and disorderly conduct following their arrest on Sunday (May 14) outside Manhattan’s plush Stewart Hotel.
The group, some of whom are currently living at the New York City hotel-turned-lodging for asylum seekers, were busted at around 4:30am for their part in two separate drunken altercations, according to law enforcement sources.
Four of the group were hit with assault charges, with the other six given disorderly conducts as the Big Apple struggles with immigration numbers.
The sources reported that the migrants fought and filed complaints against each other, and refused medical aid at the scene.
It follows a similar outbreak of violence at the same hotel in January, which saw two sheltered asylum seekers throw bottles at a man passing by, who is believed to have retaliated by stabbing the pair.
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The city is already struggling to find shelter for thousands more – a situation which is likely to get worse in the wake of the expiration of Title 42 on Thursday.
The law had been established during the coronavirus pandemic enabling the US to halt entries into the country in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
In a bid to help combat the immigration problem, meanwhile, mayor Eric Adams announced that the historic 1,000-room Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown, would soon become NYC’s main “asylum seeker arrival shelter”. The building closed three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic and hasn’t been used since.
The New York Post reports that a former public school on Staten Island also began taking in the first of 300 migrants on Saturday, whilst plans were being made to house hundreds more in the five boroughs of Westchester, Rockland and Orange Counties.
Previously, however, Mayor Adams said there was “no more room” in the city after it emerged that Colorado planned to bus some of its own migrants to New York City.
Speaking in January, he told radio host Sid Rosenberg: “We received over 30,000 asylum seekers that are in need of not only shelter, but food, education for children, health care and some of the basic items that are needed.”
He added: “Now, we were notified yesterday that the governor of Colorado has now stated that they are going to be sending migrants to places like New York and Chicago. This is just unfair for local governments to have to take on this national obligation. We’ve done our job. There’s no more room at the inn.
The Mayor said the influx of people was affecting New Yorkers’ “quality of life” during a difficult time.
“This has really impacted on the quality of life in New York, and our ability to provide everyday long-term New Yorkers on the needs that they have during this difficult time. So this must be addressed,” he said.
