NYC migrant shelter overrun by teen ‘fight club,’ constant shrieking as residents rip disturbance: ‘Becoming unbearable’
Neighbors can’t help but talk about this fight club.
The residents of a Queens apartment building say they’ve hardly had a moment’s peace since January when a 128-room hotel in Long Island City was transformed into a city-run migrant shelter.
Children living in the seven-story building loiter outside the front entrance in large, unsupervised groups practically every evening, claim residents next door at 911 44th Drive. From 8 p.m. until well past midnight, the kids fight and chase each other around, shouting, screaming — and disrupting neighbors’ sleep.
“I’ve seen the kids squaring off like its ‘Fight Club,’ and I’ve seen them choking each other,” said another resident. “Sometimes, the guards will come out and break it up. But I’ve also seen them do nothing.
“Five or six teenagers between 12- and 14-years-old were beating on a small child the other night,” the resident said. “Kid couldn’t have been older than 8, and they were kicking him in the head after forcing him onto the sidewalk.”
Videos provided to The Post show the teens screaming and fighting outside the shelter’s main door, sometimes with the shelter’s security guards watching and egging them on.
Smaller children are seen in the footage being overwhelmed by a mob of other kids and pulverized. In one video, a larger boy walks up to a much smaller boy, places him in a headlock, and, after several minutes of back-and-forth struggling, drops him to the ground like a pro wrestler.
Other videos shows the kids playing on skateboards late at night, after dark. Others kids are seen playing chase, with the building’s security guards getting involved.
Two fans, an air conditioner and earplugs, are no match for the constant din.
“Because of the way the children scream and shriek, it pierces through everything,” said one a neighbor who has lived in the building since 2011, and asked to remain anonymous, fearing retaliation. “Since around April, I would say it has been a nightly occurrence.”
“I have nothing against migrants, but to have to listen to this every night, unable to sleep, it’s becoming unbearable,” he continued.
And it’s taking a toll on his health.
“I suffer from an autoimmune disorder that is generally manageable with proper sleep and diet, but because of how this has unfolded, I find myself weaker than usual,” the man said.
Luiza Cabrera, 25, often passes the shelter in the evenings on her way home.
“It’s disturbing to have to see that kind of thing every night, and some of these kids are really just defenseless,” said Cabrera, an interior design student. “Where are the parents? Why is no one watching these kids?”
The nightly racket outside the Department of Homeless Services-run shelter has led to a total of 17 complaints to 311 since June.
The former Wyndham Garden is situated in a largely industrial area, across the street from a Department of Education administration building.
Last November, the hotel was sold to Long Island-based Bayrock Capital for close to $24 million.
The two neighbors said they’ve reached out to Councilwoman Julie Won’s office about the excessive noise and underaged fisticuffs.
“I was told DHS tells her the security guards will enforce the noise ordinance, but then they don’t,” said one of the neighbors.
A Department of Social Services spokesperson would not even confirm the former hotel is now a shelter, “to safeguard the privacy of vulnerable New Yorkers” and “social services beneficiaries residing at these locations.”
Added the irate neighbor: “I don’t care who you are or where you come from, but be a good neighbor. It is really not more complicated than wanting to be able to sleep a reasonable amount of time.”
