Migrants staying at a shelter on 110th Street in Manhattan gathered around as sneakers poured out of a garbage bag on Tuesday. Harlem resident Torin Williams donated them.

“These people didn’t ask to come here,” Williams said. “We all need to help one another, because they are here now.”


What You Need To Know

  • The city has imposed a curfew at four migrant shelters
  • The curfew runs from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m.
  • Sites with curfews include one in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan and two in Queens
  • Thousands of migrants continue to arrive in the city each week

His donations came as the city imposed a curfew at four different migrant shelters, including the one on 110th Street.

“The more and more we move into this crisis and the normalization of this crisis, we are learning a lot and we're learning things that we can do where we're not so rigid. We know that in the traditional shelters that we have a curfew,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

The curfew runs from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. Community members and leaders have repeatedly called on the city to impose curfews at certain shelters. Residents have expressed concerns that migrants venture into communities asking for food and money.

“There’s a lot of different things that take place on this street. There’s a lot of activity, and a lot of times they are wanting to collect recycling goods and break into the garbage areas, so having it contained in an hour would be great,” Harlem resident Rachel Vannucci said.

At a press conference Tuesday, Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Ischol said curfews were placed at a number of sites over the summer.

The mayor's office says this is an effort to prioritize the health and safety of migrants and residents who live in communities next to the shelters.

The city says this will also help manage bed capacity.

But as thousands of migrants continue to arrive in the city each week, Williams says he wishes New Yorkers would help out.

“You got old coats in your house? Give me something so they don’t have to go out here and steal and rob nobody,” Williams said.

Those centers include two in Queens — the Judo Center on 35th Avenue and the JFK Center on North Boundary Road — as well as the Stockton Center on Stockton Street in Brooklyn, and the Lincoln Manhattan Center on Central Park North in Manhattan.

Other sites with curfews include two in Queens — one on 35th Avenue and another on North Boundary Road — and one on Stockton Street in Brooklyn.

These four shelters house nearly 2,000 single adults.