Brooklyn residents rally to close migrant shelter amid violence concerns

NEW YORK - Residents in Brooklyn took to the streets on Tuesday evening to demand the closure of a migrant shelter, blaming it for recent acts of violence in the neighborhood, including two fatal shootings over the weekend.

The shelter, located at 47 Hall Street, houses over 3,000 migrants and has drawn the ire of residents in Clinton Hill who say it is the source of increased violence and crime in the area.

"We are here today because there is an attempt to put our neighborhood back 30 years in time when there were stabbings, drugs, assaults, fights, fear and killings. It used to be called ‘Murder Avenue,'" said Renee Collymore, a Clinton Hill resident who spoke at the rally. 

The residents' demands come after two men were shot to death and another was injured in two separate shootings on Sunday night.

Police say a suspect shot 30-year-old Arturo Jose Rodriguez-Marcano in the head just before 10:45 p.m. inside Steuben Playground. Then, less than ten minutes later, the same suspect reportedly opened fire again, this time in front of 29 Ryerson Street, a smaller migrant shelter just around the corner from the one on Hall Street. 

Twenty-one-year-old Enny Dejesus-Urbina Mendez, a resident of the shelter, was shot multiple times and killed.

A law enforcement source told the New York Post that all the victims of Sunday night's violence were migrants.

"There is simply no universe where you can cram 4,000 vulnerable people together safely," said nearby resident Tim Walker. "Do you believe us now? How many more murders will it take?"

Residents say they have been pleading with their Councilwoman, Crystal Hudson, along with Mayor Adams to do something about the shelter, saying that they are not opposed to housing migrants in their neighborhood, but just not thousands in a span of two blocks.

Mayor Eric Adams has reportedly agreed to come to Clinton Hill to see the situation for himself and speak with residents.