New York imposes curfew on migrants in shelters to prevent them from begging at night

New York imposes a curfew on migrants as shelter residents go out at night and beg. According to ABC7NY, migrants knock on doors, begging for food, money and clothes.

The owner of a house in Belle Harbor, Queens, said that she has a video of a woman with a child ringing the doorbell and showing a transfer on her phone, allegedly she is an immigrant and she needs money.

Paul King, president of the Property Owners Association, says the area is experiencing a boom in begging. “Some of them come to the porch of the house, use their children as props, and beg aggressively. People actually even come into the house,” King said.

Control over the situation

During a conference call with local lawmakers this week, Council Member Joanne Ariola of Queens asked whether the administration was considering imposing curfews on asylum seeker shelters such as Floyd Bennett Field, Randall's Island and Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.

Ariola believes isolation and less favorable conditions at Floyd Bennett Field are forcing some asylum seekers to move into nearby areas and panhandle late at night.

City officials say they are now considering imposing the same curfews that apply to homeless and migrant shelters.

“The number one thing the administration has to do is keep the public safe,” Ariola said. “And the way to ensure public safety is to control any additional population that comes into our areas.”

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The Adams administration told her it would look into the issue and released the following statement: “Our traditional DHS shelters have a curfew system in place, and some communities and elected officials have asked us to consider this option for our migrant shelters. We are considering all options."

First restrictions

Starting Tuesday, January 16, New York will impose a curfew on 1900 migrants held in four centers. Migrants will have to stay there from 11 pm to 6 am. Those who violate the curfew three times in 30 days may be kicked out of the shelter. In total, the policy covers approximately 1900 asylum seekers in four centres:

• 35th Ave Astoria and Judo (37-11 35th Street),
• Lincoln Manhattan (31-33 W 110th Street),
• JFK Respite Center (197 North Boundary Rd.),
• Stockton (359 Stockton Street).

Meanwhile, state lawmakers are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to provide additional funds to combat the crisis. “We must provide these people with access to livelihoods, access to resources that they can earn on their own to support themselves. These people are really just looking for opportunity, but a curfew is not the way to do that,” said Bronx Assemblymember Amanda Septimo.

The growing number of migrant arrivals is posing challenges to the state's aid efforts, the governor said. “It's not an accurate forecast because the mayor doesn't know, we don't know,” Hochul said.

The city's state cost estimate to combat the crisis through fiscal year 2025 dropped from $12 billion to $10 billion. But Septimo says the state hasn't met its $1 billion commitment for the current fiscal year, so she says the governor should prioritize whatever the state can give.