A press conference was held in Queens Village last Friday in the wake of two Cuban migrant brothers wanted for attempted murder in Orlando, Fla., allegedly being discovered with a gun inside the tent city on the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center complex.
Councilwoman Linda Lee (D-Oakland Gardens), who held the event, in conjunction with other area officials, was stunned to learn about the fugitives from the New York Post, which first reported the incident.
“It happened three days ago,” Lee told the Chronicle on Oct. 4. “The most alarming part of this is that I found out today ... We didn’t get any phone calls from anyone at [City Hall].”
Lee said she was at the complex just a few weeks ago discussing how to improve conditions at the tent city.
“Quality of life issues need to be addressed,” Lee said. “Whether it is the garbage, the lack of buses or the parks not being open.”
The councilwoman said residents have been patient and understanding when it comes to what is happening with the migrant crisis, but to have a tent city with more than 1,200 asylum seekers smacked down in the middle of a residential neighborhood, unlike the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers on Randall’s Island in Manhattan and Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, is problematic.
“Those two other tent city HERRC sites are in isolated areas,” said Lee. “This one is ... across the street from a school, the park and everything.”
Lee said when she did a site tour of the facility when it first opened up, she was told there was an intake process and background checks being conducted.
“My question is, where did the system fall apart?” she said. “Maybe we need to do a better intake and reevaluate the system to make sure this doesn’t happen.”
Lee said the situation is very dangerous not only to the residents, but the migrants too.
“If a fight broke out, if there is an incident that happens, that puts the other migrants at risk as well,” she said. “We want this site to be closed, but in the meantime, what we are demanding are metal detectors installed ... We are going to push the city for this.”
Mayor Adams’ office said it does not do criminal background checks on everyone who comes through the system, but all its migrant facilities have 24/7 security to keep every individual under its care — and New Yorkers at large — safe. Adams’ office also said that anyone who violates the code of conduct or threatens the safety of other shelter residents and staff may be subject to loss of shelter.
The Mayor’s Office did not say whether it will consider having metal detectors in HERRC facilities in the future after the alleged incident, but did say that it inspects all bags and packages, including food delivery bags.
When asked what the vetting and flagging process entailed, the Mayor’s Office did not further elaborate before press time. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that it will look into the Chronicle’s inquiry and will respond at a later time.
Daniel Sparrow, a spokesman for Lee, told the Chronicle that she was under the impression the vetting or flagging process included criminal background checks.
Sparrow said, during initial the tour her office was assured that between the CBP and Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, where migrants share their information again for intake in the city, asylum seekers would be vetted, screened (for communicable diseases such as Covid-19), and flagged if anything alarming came up.
“Since these individuals were previously in Florida, there was evidently a lapse in the intake process that allowed individuals with outstanding warrants to be placed there,” he said.
Jaroscar Chavez Silva, 36, was charged with one felony count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, according to the city Department of Correction.
According to a criminal complaint from the Queens District Attorney’s Office, a black G2S Taurus pistol loaded with one 9mm bullet and one magazine containing six 9mm rounds of ammunition was found in a duffle bag underneath the bed of the defendant. The complaint said a warrant was issued for Chavez Silva’s arrest on Sept. 16.
Rosheil Chavez Silva, 30, his brother, was extradited back to Florida after police at the 105th Precinct questioned both, reported the Post.
Bob Friedrich, president of Glen Oaks Village, a co-op with 10,000 residents adjacent to the migrant facility, said he does not believe the people at the site are being vetted.
“We have minimum-wage guards entrusted with securing our security inside the shelter,” Friedrich said. “Twenty-four-seven NYPD presence has been eliminated. The sidewalks outside have been strewn with litter and scores of migrants hang out and block the sidewalks. Our beloved elderly residents and young moms with children no longer can congregate at the park across from the migrant shelter because they have been pushed out and feel unsafe.”
Rich Hellenbrecht, the secretary and treasurer of the Bellerose Commonwealth Civic Association, told the Chronicle he was outraged, but the Borough President’s Office told him it would look into the matter.
“These are the guys that got caught,” Hellenbrecht said. “How many people are walking around with knives in their pocket or guns?”
