Staten Island residents are complaining to police and elected officials that their streets are turning into a “demolition derby” as unlicensed drivers without insurance are driving unregistered vehicles and causing accidents near migrant shelters.
Residents near the former St. John Villa Academy in Arrocha are fearful of driving in their own neighborhood as illegal border crossers have begun buying junker cars without license plates to use for joyriding and transportation, according to the New York Post.
“The situation has escalated here. Migrants are barbecuing in the woods next to our playgrounds and the biggest thing now is these vehicles,” said resident John Aspinall, who heads the Travis Neighborhood Watch group.
Aspinall added that parking lots and wooded areas are becoming hangout spots for illegals, who are leaving broken-down furniture, piles of garbage, food scraps, beer cans, and other refuse strewn everywhere.
For instance, one unregistered car discovered near a shelter had its NYC registration sticker scratched away and its safety inspection sticker destroyed.
Accidents are up, too. One man had his pickup truck totaled on August 27 by an illegal driver in an unregistered car. In another incident just last weekend, an unlicensed driver in an unregistered car slammed into a parked car which, in turn, slammed into a car in front of it, destroying all three vehicles.
“There’s no monitoring going on,” Aspinall said, adding that at night, dozens of migrants set up makeshift BBQs and cook all night, leaving garbage and food scraps everywhere.
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The city’s contract with Project Hospitality for the Travis property is supposed to expire on October 1, but the city has already said that it is likely the contract will simply be extended to 2026.
Many of these illegals have fanned out across the city, taking cash jobs without work permits, without paying taxes, or without unemployment fees. Some are using their illegal vehicles for off-book delivery jobs, the Post added.
Residents are also worried about violence breaking out in these shelters.
In September, two migrants were arrested for domestic violence in the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, one for trying to choke out his girlfriend.
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Illegal border crosser Jefferson Rivera, 23, was arrested on September 24 after getting in a fight with his companion and trying to choke her, the Post added in a separate story.
The day before Rivera’s arrest, the New York Police Department arrested Franklin Mendoza, 23, also for attacking his girlfriend. Mendoza was released without bail the next day and given a No. 1 court date.
More than 110,000 illegal border crossers have arrived in New York City alone since last spring, and more than 60,000 are currently enjoying free housing courtesy of taxpayers.
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