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Police have made 41 arrests since migrants took over NYC’s once-ritzy Roosevelt Hotel

September 4, 2023 | | Print Article

At least 41 people have been arrested at the once-ritzy Roosevelt Hotel in New York City since it was transformed into a migrant shelter in May.

Law-enforcement sources said on Sunday that the majority of the alleged crimes involved incidents of domestic violence, including one 30-year-old migrant who was picked up on Saturday on suspicion of endangering his 11-year-old daughter, according to the New York Post.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office later confirmed that it declined to prosecute.

“After thorough investigation and review of the facts, the People declined to prosecute this matter,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “If a crime cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, it is our ethical duty not to charge it.”

(Video: YouTube)

Another asylum seeker was arrested in June after he was reportedly booted from the Roosevelt for being unruly. He allegedly responded by grabbing a “No Parking” sign and smacking the employee who ejected him in the head, leaving the worker with a 6-inch gash.

The incident was enough to prompt an unannounced visit from Mayor Eric Adams days later.

And the Roosevelt isn’t the only migrant shelter to face “unruly” residents.

On Thursday, an NYPD officer was trying to confiscate an unregistered motorbike in front of the Upper West Side’s Stratford Arms Hotel, which was established as a migrant shelter for adult families and single women in June.

The owner of the bike, a 20-year-old migrant woman, was arrested after she allegedly slapped the police officer.

It wasn’t her first run-in with NYPD. In July, she was arrested after she allegedly attacked her boyfriend. Despite that, she was, in accordance with New York state law, released on the slapping charge without bail.

But it is the Roosevelt that has gained the most national attention after videos surfaced of migrants camping on the sidewalk outside its doors, waiting for an open spot inside the prohibition-era hotel.

(Video: YouTube)

Local businesses are feeling the strain.

A store manager for Sayki, which sells men’s suits down the block from the Roosevelt, said the migrant crisis is bad for business.

“These migrants here, they are disturbing us a lot,” George Boahene told The Post. “They are always hanging around scratching the windows and making the windows dirty. … It’s not good for the business.”

And, as BizPac Review recently reported, when the historic Redbury Hotel was converted into a migrant shelter, famed New York City restaurateur and Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer closed his Marta and Maialino restaurants, which were located in the Redbury’s lobby.

“We are disappointed to announce that Marta and Maialino (vicino) will be ceasing operations at the Redbury. Our last night of service will be Friday, August 25,” Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group said in a statement.

“As tenants of the Redbury, our two restaurants, which occupy the lobby floor, have been eagerly anticipating the hotel’s full post-pandemic reopening. Now, as the Redbury partners with the City to house asylum seekers, it’s become clear that the timeline for that reopening has been extended indefinitely,” the statement read. “While we admire and respect the Redbury’s decision, the viability of our business relies significantly on hotel-related F&B operations, including event venues and the lobby bar, spaces that are now unavailable for our use.”

Melissa Fine
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