Dozens of migrants in Queens allegedly found living in commercial basement

Roughly 70 people believed to be migrants were discovered living illegally in the basement of a Queens commercial building, according to city officials and the building’s owner.

The FDNY said inspectors from its Bureau of Fire Prevention discovered a “dangerous living condition” with about 40 beds on the ground floor and in the cellar. The inspectors were responding to a complaint about e-bikes in the backyard of the building on Liberty Avenue in South Richmond Hill.

Property owner Narharry Ghaness told Gothamist he was renting the first-floor commercial space and cellar to a tenant running a furniture business. He said his son noticed a partition set up on the first floor and questioned the business owner about it in December or January. He said the tenant responded that he was storing extra furniture “stock” behind the partition and in the cellar.

Ghaness said he only learned that the tenant was “harboring” migrants in the building when an official from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development contacted him on Monday.

“We assume all is well until this bombshell of yesterday,” he said.

City officials said roughly 70 people had been found and many had been relocated to shelters.

Bahar Ostadan contributed reporting.