New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and more than 100 New York State elected officials sent a letter on Oct. 16 to more than 1,000 owners of parking garages and lots in New York City, asking them not to lease or lend space to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for use as a staging base for enforcement operations. City-owned facilities are already off-limits under city law and policy, but those rules do not apply to private property.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, together with more than 100 New York State elected officials, sent a letter on Oct. 16 to owners and operators of parking garages and lots in New York City. The letter asks them not to lease, lend or otherwise make their property available to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for use as a staging base for immigration enforcement operations. The city said the letter went to more than 1,000 owners. It also asks owners to tell ICE directly that they "do not authorize use of their facilities."
The city cited an incident that took place a week earlier in Marble Hill, the Bronx. According to the city, ICE agents surrounded a vehicle on a residential street and fired multiple shots, hitting Oscar Belgal, 28, in the neck while his 5-year-old son was in the car. The agents are reported to have prepared for the operation in a private parking lot a few blocks away. The city also cited two bank parking lots on Northern Boulevard in Queens and a parking garage on Morton Street in Manhattan as places ICE has used.
City law, state law and city policy already bar the use of city-owned facilities for purposes other than city business. That includes city-owned parking lots and properties, as well as schools, shelters and hospitals. Without a court warrant or a limited legal exception, law enforcement agencies outside the city may not use city property as a gathering point, an investigation site or an operational base. In February, Mayor Mamdani strengthened the rules governing how city agencies deal with federal immigration authorities through Executive Order 13, and in May he updated facility access guidance following a review. However, these safeguards do not extend to private property.
The mayor said that a parking garage on Morton Street removed ICE vehicles after neighbors raised concerns. Fayza Ali, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), urged private owners to do their part as well. According to the city, more than 3.1 million people, over one-third of New York City's population, are foreign-born, and immigrants make up 43% of the city's workforce. Residents who need legal advice on immigration matters can call the MOIA Immigrant Legal Help Hotline at 800-354-0365.