Fights break out at crowded migrant shelter on Randall’s Island

RANDALL’S ISLAND, N.Y. (PIX11) – Another violent incident happened right outside the mega migrant shelter on Randall’s Island on Sunday.

“Not Easy, not easy,“ said Abdellah, who has lived in the crowded tent for the past four months. “So much people with different characters and sometimes they have the fight.”

It was right outside Field 82, where police said a 26-year-old man was stabbed.

“African and Latin fighting together, sometimes they fight about bath, food, something like that,” said Musa, another resident.

Sources told PIX11 News the victim is a shelter resident. It remains unclear what led to the stabbing, but many of those who live here said things get heated very often.

“It has to do with the fact mainly the shelter is very, very large,” said Kathryn Kliff, a staff attorney for The Legal Aid Society’s Homeless Rights Project.

Just over a week ago, NYPD officers arrived at the facility to conduct a surprise search for contraband. According to police, nothing was found , and no one was arrested.

The Legal Aid Society called the city’s response an overreaction.

“I think what the city they really should be focusing on is case management, help people move out of shelters so you don’t have a massive amount of people in these shelters,” said Kliff.

The stabbing comes just two weeks after the deadly shooting of 44-year-old shelter resident Sandra Martinez. A 32-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were also wounded.

For Musa, the heavy police presence he noticed on the complex Monday evening is a sense of relief.

“Is good because someone is safe is because a lot of police here,” he said.

Some asylum seekers have set up small tents outside the shelter after being forced out because of the city’s 30-day shelter limit.

“We find that rather than focusing on a particular amount of time, what our clients need is taking the next steps to move out; even officials that work inside these shelters say case management is the key to help these people move out,” said Kliff.

At least 3,000 migrants, both men and women, are housed in the Randall’s Island shelter.

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