Several West African migrants who were allegedly paying a Brooklyn resident to stay at a make-shift, Bronx migrant shelter located at 305 East Kingsbridge Road in Fordham Manor, were evacuated in late February by City officials due to unsafe living conditions. The shelter was allegedly being illegally run by the same man, who is reportedly from Senegal, and who was already busted for allegedly trespassing and running two other illegal shelters, one at the Old Fordham Library building in Fordham Manor and a second in a Queens furniture store.

 

The shelter at 305 East Kingsbridge Road in Fordham Manor was closed on or after Feb. 28 after the evacuation of reportedly dozens of migrants from the first floor and cellar of the building, as reported by The New York Post. When Norwood News visited the location of the shelter at 305 East Kingsbridge Road on Saturday, March 2, a sign posted to the door of the building advised readers to call the number provided “to get access to your belongings.”

 

A partial vacate notice posted to the door by NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) cited “conditions perilous to life” as the reason for the order. DOB advised that reentry to the location was prohibited “until such conditions have been eliminated to the satisfaction of the department.”

 

When contacted for more information, a police spokesperson told Norwood News that at around 4 p.m. on Feb. 28, the NYPD was requested by FDNY and DOB to assist with crowd control in front of 305 East Kingsbridge Road. The NYPD referred us to the FDNY and DOB for additional information.

 

We followed up with both departments and an FDNY spokesperson replied, saying, “Initial Complaint was for the presence of e-bikes / lithium-ion batteries. While on scene, [fire department] units identified illegal living conditions.”

When contacted by Norwood News about the alleged illegal shelter at the Old Fordham Library building which housed the former Fordham branch of New York Public Library at 2556 Bainbridge Avenue also in Fordham Manor, police said, “There is a report on file for criminal trespass, within the confines of the 52 Precinct. The report states that on Sunday, January 14, 2024, at approximately 18.40 hours, an individual was found illegally residing in an abandoned library located at 2556 Bainbridge Avenue.”

 

Police said that pursuant to an ongoing investigation, Ebou Sarr, 47, of Beverley Road in Prospect Park South in Brooklyn was arrested and charged with criminal trespass. The Post reported that Sarr told police regarding the Old Fordham Library location that he hadn’t broken into the abandoned building when cops found him there around 6:40 p.m. on Jan. 14, though he admitted he also didn’t get permission to go inside.

 

Norwood News contacted the Bronx district attorney’s office for details of the criminal complaints filed in respect of both Bronx shelters as well as all charges brought against Sarr. To date, we have only received the complaint relating to the Old Fordham Library building which broadly reiterated what police said.

 

Additionally, according to the complaint, the library building was described by police as “abandoned” with “chains and locks” on it, and Sarr told police on being apprehended, “This is our migrant shelter. I run it. I help these people because they have nowhere to go. Shelters won’t accept us. I have proof of residency from the mayor … I have a business up the street, but this is where I live.”

 

Norwood News contacted the Red Cross for details of the status of the migrants who were displaced following the evacuation and a spokesperson said, “It is our understanding that NYC Emergency Management (EMS) has been taking the lead on providing for the needs of the people who were found living in the spaces being illegally used as shelters. They may be able to provide more information about the displaced residents.”

We reached out to EMS and NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) and will share any updates we receive. We did not receive a response from DOB but have followed up with the department and will share any feedback we receive.

 

On March 2, Norwood News also spoke to a man selling clothes and shoes under a tent as it rained outside a closed “Total by Verizon” store located next to 305 East Kingsbridge Road and asked if he knew anything about the shelter and evacuation. “Yeah, the police came and you know people were sleeping inside the store and they made it a shelter,” he said.

 

Asked if the man knew it had been operating as an illegal shelter, the man said, “Yeah, I know but give me two minutes; I be back.” He then walked away and didn’t come back during the 15 or 20 minutes we waited for him.

 

We later spoke to a second street vendor on East Kingsbridge Road and asked if he had known about the evacuation. The vendor said, “I was here. I work here.” Asked if he had known about the illegal shelter, he said, “There was some Africans living there, and there was a lot of them they say. I know they were living there, but I didn’t know there was so much until I saw them coming out.”

We asked if he had seen them entering the building with scooters. The vendor said, “Yes, bicycles and stuff.” We asked if there was anything in particular that had stood out to him that had indicated there were potentially too many people living there. He replied, “No… but there were a lot of bicycles and scooters.”

 

We asked the vendor if he believed the migrants and others on the block were living in an unsafe / hazardous environment due to the number of e-bikes housed in the shelter and its close proximity to other adjacent buildings on the block in the event of a fire. The vendor replied, “They would all burn, right.” We asked if the migrants had been transported away via bus. “Some of them went on the bus,” he said. “Some of them went elsewhere with friends.”

 

Asked if some just walked away, he said, “Yes, they said they were paying to stay there. They said some paid $300. If you’re a guy, you pay $600.” When we commented that they were likely working if they were paying $600 to stay there, the man said, “Yeah, they were working. They’d do Uber on the bicycle.”

 

Norwood News also spoke to some employees at nearby Bronx Pawn Brokers Inc. at 301 East Kingsbridge Road in Fordham Manor. We asked if migrants had been housed at 305 East Kingsbridge Road. Referring to the nail salon, one male employee said, “That was a business; it’s closed now. It’s been closed for years now.” However, signs for “Envy Nails Salon” and “Emma’s Delicate Hair Breading” were seen outside the building address and on the second floor on March 2.

Later, we spoke to a woman with a Jamaican accent who was handing out fliers for a local business along East Kingsbridge Road and who was standing under an awning trying to keep dry from the rain. She said she was only aware of a raid on an illegal shelter at 305 East Kingsbridge Road and another at an illegal shelter a day earlier in Queens. “Sorry, I don’t know about one on Bainbridge (Avenue),” she said. “That one’s new. I only know two in Queens and one right here.”

 

Asked if she had heard that the same landlord owned both the Bronx and the Queens locations, she said, “Both of them, yes. I don’t want to go on the news. I think the landlord is kind of greedy, you know. Because he said he was looking out for the migrants over here and he was taking $600. He said $300 on the news, but the one right here said they gave him $200 deposit and some said, right here, said they gave him $600. He’s greedy.” Norwood News is currently unable to substantiate if such payments were being made or not.

 

She continued, “He tried to live off the migrants. One night, I was going home and I see one of the guys with one plate full of rice and one with meat. Really I didn’t know so many people were living right there until I saw the news. I was like, ‘Really?’ That’s when I saw that guy that night with huge plates of food. He’s going to feed a lot downstairs. There’s 41 downstairs, and 70 in Queens. That’s like 111. That’s a lot.” As above, Norwood News is currently unable to substantiate if such payments were being made or not.

 

We mentioned the potential fire hazard due to the scooters charging in the building. “They don’t even know the danger because some of them down there work for Uber,” the woman said. “They do deliveries and all of the bikes were parking there. They didn’t even know the danger. Both Queens and here, they didn’t see the danger because if there’s a fire, how’s 70 people going to come out at the same time from the basement? Right here is the same. How’s 41 people going to come out if there’s a fire, because all of them were using bikes.” Asked if the woman had been present during the raid, the woman replied, “No, I was home watching it live on TV right here.”

As reported in early 2021, DCAS proposed to Bronx CB7 to convert the second floor of the vacant Old Fordham Library, a former branch of New York Public Library, located at 2556 Bainbridge Avenue, into a new computer-based testing and application center, to facilitate more opportunities for a wider number of local candidates to apply for City jobs.

 

The building was selected by NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) to house a Community Technical Assistance Center (CTAC), a new computer-based testing and application center, to facilitate more opportunities for a wider number of local candidates to apply for City jobs. Mostly vacant, since it shut down in 2005, DCAS said at the time that they planned to use the second floor to help prepare local candidates for civil service exams.

 

In February 2021, Barbara Dannenberg, DCAS’s deputy commissioner for human capital told Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) about the expectations if the project was approved. “It’s a place where folks come in and chat with our knowledgeable staff and learn what jobs the city has to offer,” she said. “I think we have every job in the City of New York except for astronaut.”

 

At the monthly meeting of CB7’s committee on Housing, Land Use & Economic Development on May 11, 2021, then chairman Alex Karman advised members of the upcoming public hearing, part of the City review process known as a the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). As part of this process, input from the public is requested before the City makes any zoning changes to a property.

 

“The proposal right now is to do the public hearing on Tuesday, May 18, at 6:30 and then any comments will be considered at the full Board meeting later this month,” Karman said at the time. The Bronx CB7 monthly board meeting was scheduled for May 25, 2021. As reported, residents of Fordham Manor were invited to voice their views on the topic during a virtual hearing on May 18, 2021.

 

Generally, once CB7 makes a decision on any project, which is purely advisory in nature, the borough president has a 30-day period to review the proposal and give any recommendations, which are also advisory, to New York City Department of City Planning (DCP). After a few more reviews, the City Council then makes a final decision on the project, having the power to overturn any veto by the mayor, if necessary.

There was no mention of the approved project in the May 25, 2021 general board meeting minutes. Norwood News is following up with both Bronx CB7 and DCAS for more information on whether the proposal ever got the green light. We will share any updates we receive.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.