The city authorities evicted a store in The Bronx that was illegally converted into housing to house dozens of tenants and that was run by the same person who managed another site that housed up to 70 migrants in a furniture store in Queens.
The city’s Department of Buildings said Thursday that it responded to reports the day before about the illegal conversion of a two-story commercial building in the Fordham neighborhood of that borough.
Inspectors found 45 beds crammed on the first level and in the basement of the building, along with electric extension cords, electric bicycles, heaters, stoves and other elements that created a fire risk, the agency said.
City officials ordered the building evacuated due to “dangerous and life-threatening conditions,” which included severe overcrowding and lack of natural light and ventilation. The building owner was also charged with two violations for failure to maintain the building and occupancy in violation of city records.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management, which operates New York City’s migrant shelter system, also assisted displaced tenants, the buildings department said.
The store is run by Ebou Sarr, who ran a similar lodging operation in Queens, which was closed Tuesday.
City officials ordered the evacuation of Sarr’s Wholesale Furniture store after discovering that the retail space on the first level and the basement had been converted into dormitories, with 14 bunk beds and 13 beds crammed onto both levels and able to accommodate 41 people. .
The man, a native of Senegal, told reporters on Tuesday that he housed mainly male migrants from his country, located in West Africa, and that he charged them $300 a month because they could not afford housing once their term was up. to remain in the city’s emergency migrant shelter system.
As of Thursday, no one had answered phones related to Sarr.
