NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani led a coalition of more than 100 elected officials across New York State in issuing a letter to over 1,000 private parking garage and lot owners across the five boroughs, urging them to prohibit ICE from using their properties as staging grounds for enforcement operations.
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The letter follows an incident in Marble Hill where ICE agents shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in the neck inside a vehicle containing his 5-year-old son, after reportedly staging operations out of a nearby private lot.
"Last week, ICE agents shot a father in the neck in Marble Hill while his 5-year-old son sat in the car," Mamdani said. "City law already bars ICE from using City property as a base of operations. Federal agents are turning to private parking lots, including a lot just blocks from where they shot Mr. Belgal. I am asking every garage and lot owner in this city to stop giving them that option. Do not rent your property to ICE. Do not lend it to them. Tell them they are not welcome."
Mamdani emphasized that private operators hold the authority to keep federal authorities off their premises and cited a recent incident where a garage on Morton Street in Manhattan removed ICE vehicles after local residents raised concerns. "You're talking about agents who are opening fire in broad daylight," Mamdani stated, noting that federal agents have repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for local community safety.
The joint letter instructs property owners to formally inform ICE that its agents are not authorized to use their facilities, warning that allowing federal enforcement access places property, employees, and customers at the center of operations that terrorize local communities.
Local laws and executive actions restrict ICE from using city-owned properties, schools, shelters, and hospitals as staging areas without a judicial warrant. Those prohibitions do not extend to private real estate, prompting the citywide push by elected leaders.
