Dozens of migrants in Queens allegedly found living in commercial basement

Published Feb 27, 2024 at 11:52 a.m. ET

Modified Feb 27, 2024 at 3:04 p.m. ET

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Published Feb 27, 2024 at 11:52 a.m. ET

Modified Feb 27, 2024 at 3:04 p.m. ET

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Roughly 70 people believed to be migrants were discovered living illegally in the basement of a Queens commercial building, according to city officials and the building’s owner.

But the man responsible for housing them said he was trying to do a service for his fellow immigrants.

The FDNY said inspectors from its Bureau of Fire Prevention discovered a “dangerous living condition” with about 40 beds on the ground floor and in the cellar. The inspectors were responding to a complaint about e-bikes in the backyard of the building on Liberty Avenue in South Richmond Hill.

Property owner Narharry Ghaness told Gothamist he was renting the first-floor commercial space and cellar to a tenant running a furniture business. He said his son noticed a partition set up on the first floor and questioned the business owner about it in December or January. He said the tenant responded that he was storing extra furniture “stock” behind the partition and in the cellar. Ghaness said he only learned that the tenant was “harboring” migrants in the building when an official from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development contacted him on Monday.

“We assume all is well until this bombshell of yesterday,” he said.

Ghaness said he has not entered the building since city officials vacated the basement on Monday but neighbors told him they had noticed several people coming and going.

Ebou Sarr, the business owner using the space to house migrants, told Gothamist he was looking to help fellow West Africans trying to get a foothold in the city.

“We have a lot of people who came to this country, to New York, too, and they needed help,” said Sarr, 48. “They throw them outside over there in the streets. They stay in these camps, and they stay there 30 days and they throw them outside in this cold weather and they don't have no way to go nowhere, [they’re] sleeping out in the streets.”

Sarr said he was housing 72 men in the basement and first-floor of the commercial space on Liberty Avenue and charging them $300 each for a bed and food. He said he bought memberships at a local Planet Fitness so they could shower, and added that he planned to save enough money to buy a separate building to use as community lodging.

“I decided to bring these guys in because there's so many of them so that we can work together and get a place for ourselves and put them in this better place, better buildings,” he said.

Sarr said he began housing people in the commercial space when a cousin arrived from Senegal in October 2023.

“I said, you know what, I will just bring him in,” Sarr said. “I told him to come and stay with me and help me out in the business.”

Then came a close friend's brother, and dozens of others soon followed.

He said most of the men spent last night on the streets after the city vacated their illegal accommodations, and they feared losing their jobs because they had no place to store their luggage and possessions while they worked. Sarr said he was not worried about the consequences because he wants city leaders to understand the needs of West African migrants trying to make it in the five boroughs.

“If I’m being penalized, it’s fine,” he said. “I want them to get the message. I want them to give us the help that we need.”

But city officials said the arrangements were unhealthy and illegal.

“People may have been sleeping in shifts,” said Aries Dela Cruz, a spokesperson for the city’s Office of Emergency Management.

She said about 20 people were cleared from the space on Monday afternoon, then again at night when a second group of men arrived.

City officials sent the first group to one of the city’s overnight “waiting rooms” for migrants — a former Catholic school called St. Brigid in the East Village — and the second group to another site in the Bathgate section of the Bronx.

Imam Omar Niass has been housing men from the Caribbean and African countries in his Bronx mosque since last year. He told Gothamist Tuesday he currently has more than 80 men staying in the basement with an additional 50 men due to arrive Friday in time for Ramadan.

But Niass said his setup has passed previous inspections, in part because he distinguishes it as a religious space and not a family home, and also because there are multiple exits.

“If we say ‘the basement,’ they [give] violations,” he said. Niass also said he does not allow the men to store e-bikes at the mosque.

He extended an open invitation to the men who were evicted from the Queens building.

“They don’t have nowhere to go, that’s why I tell them ‘welcome,’” he said.

Mayor Eric Adams said he was briefed on the situation at around 1 a.m. Tuesday and that a 311 complaint prompted the investigation.

"The system did its job," he said. "It was first responded by FDNY, then DOB [the Department of Buildings] came in."

Adams did not provide any further details but said an investigation was still ongoing.

City officials said many of the men had been relocated to shelters.

Charles Lane contributed reporting.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

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David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email dbrand@nypublicradio.org or Signal 908-310-3960.

Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at bkriegstein@nypublicradio.org.

Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email bostadan@nypublicradio.org or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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