Thread: Unlicensed migrants, unregistered cars turn NYC shelter neighborhood into demolition

Unlicensed migrants, unregistered cars turn NYC shelter neighborhood into demolition derby




Story by Deirdre Bardolf

September 23, 2023


Migrants staying at a pair of Staten Island shelters have turned the neighborhood into a demolition derby — with reckless unlicensed drivers behind the wheels of unregistered cars, fed-up neighbors told The Post.

Residents on Victory Boulevard were awoken suddenly at 4:30 a.m. on a recent Sunday when an unlicensed driver of a car without plates slammed into a parked car, launching it into one parked in front of it, totaling both.

“It’s like the Wild West,” said nearby resident John Aspinall, who heads the Travis Neighborhood Watch group.

Elected officials and residents have been protesting the Travis shelters since they opened last October but some say the controversial new shelter at the former St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar has distracted from their issues.

“The situation has escalated here,” Aspinall told The Post. “Migrants are barbecuing in the woods next to our playgrounds and the biggest thing now is these vehicles.”






Unlicensed migrants, unregistered cars turn NYC shelter neighborhood into demolition derby© Provided by New York Post



John Aspinall and other Travis residents have been vocal about the conditions surrounding the migrant shelters in the Staten Island neighborhood.

Aristide Economopoulos

Several cars with no plates sit in the parking lot near the Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Inn and are among the hangouts for shelter residents, with garbage, tables and chairs and beer cans scattered about. Aspinall said two vehicles were towed once already but returned shortly after.

On Aug. 27, a car T-boned a truck on Victory Boulevard, causing extensive damage to the two vehicles. The registration was torn out and the overdue inspection sticker scratched, pictures shared with The Post show.

The driver did not have a license but had an IDNYC card with one of the shelter addresses listed.






Unlicensed migrants, unregistered cars turn NYC shelter neighborhood into demolition derby© Provided by New York Post



Two residents cars were crashed into by a driver from the nearby shelter at 4:30 in the morning late last month.

Instagram @travisneighborhoodwatch

“I want accountability and I want justice,” said the owner of one of the cars, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

“He should have been arrested. If that was any of us in that situation, me or my neighbors, we would have been,” the woman said.

She said she will move if the current shelter contract is extended.





Unlicensed migrants, unregistered cars turn NYC shelter neighborhood into demolition derby© Provided by New York Post



An early morning crash on Aug. 27 left two parked cars severely damaged.The city’s $5.36 million deal with Project Hospitality for the Travis shelters is set to expire on Oct. 1 but could be extended until 2026, according to city records.

The Post witnessed the mayhem in the parking lots last week when a group from the shelter chased after a photographer and tried to grab his camera. They proceeded to bang on his car and Aspinall’s.

“I’m not even saying I don’t want migrants here . . . All I’m saying is the city needs to take accountability,” Aspinall said after the incident.






Unlicensed migrants, unregistered cars turn NYC shelter neighborhood into demolition derby© Provided by New York Post



Two migrant shelters in Travis, Staten Island have drawn protest for months.

Aristide Economopoulos

“There’s no monitoring going on,” he added. Most nights, barbecues and propane tanks are set up in the lot behind a former gym.

“The reality is, these two hotels should never have been shelters in the first place,” City Councilman David Carr told The Post.

The shelters can accommodate roughly 600 people, made up of families with children, and have increased the population of the small neighborhood by nearly 20% in the past year, he noted.

“We’re going to continue to work with the NYPD and other agencies to make sure that these issues are mitigated,” Carr added.

Talks are underway with the owners of the neighboring lot, where there was previously an LA Fitness, to fence off the area, but that remains to be determined, he said.



https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/un...162b296&ei=148

No plates, call the tow trucks to tow them off!

Flatten the tires!

Disable the vehicles, use your BRAINS!

These lawless feral animals are destroying our neighborhoods and destroying the hotels.