A former employee has revealed that the Row NYC hotel, which was repurposed to house migrants, has become a center of lawlessness.
The hotel, located in the tourist-heavy area of Times Square, no longer offers rooms to the public but instead houses as many as 600 migrant families. The hotel has a gourmet food market, a fitness studio, and an internet lounge featuring iMac computers.
However, according to Gustavo Rosario, manager of Iron Bar across the street from the hotel, the situation has become dire. "It doesn't look good. Now we open the window, and if they are smoking marijuana, all the smoke [starts] coming inside. People get uncomfortable," he said.
A migrant father staying at the hotel revealed that the situation worsens at night. "Come around 9 or 10 p.m., it's crazy. People [are] drinking aguardiente and smoking weed outside all night since we can't bring that in.
The police have come and pushed them out some nights so now they gather at the corners," he said. The father also expressed concern about the children staying at the hotel. "I've seen 12-, 13-year-olds drinking and smoking outside a lot of the Venezuelan kids with the men. These kids they don't have structure or good role models," he said.
Carlos Arellano, an ex-employee of Row NYC, has also spoken out about the situation. Arellano alleged that children were drinking and doing drugs in hotel rooms with weapons. "Every day, we find about ten kids alone in their hotel rooms, either drinking or doing drugs. Weapons will be in the room. But we're not allowed to go in there. We're not allowed to take anything from them. It's basically a free-for-all," he said.
Arellano also claimed he found fake documents inside the hotel rooms, such as counterfeit passports and social security cards. He shared photos of some hotel rooms trashed after the Row NYC became housing during the migrant crisis in New York City.
The situation at Row NYC is far from its previous reputation as a trendy hotel. In October 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the hotel would become a "migrant relief center." In March, the New York City comptroller revealed that the city is on pace to spend over $4 billion during the fiscal years of 2023 and 2024.
New York City has a $40 million contract with Row NYC to house illegal immigrants. However, the hotel has reportedly become a hub of intoxicated children, drugs, and violence. Arellano claimed that he felt in danger "every day" that he worked at the hotel.
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