Dozens of migrant men have been living in a cramped basement under a Queens furniture store — where beds are so in-demand that only half the inhabitants can sleep there at one time, city officials said Tuesday.
Paul Martinka
Fire prevention inspectors discovered the illegal boarding house Monday night when they were called to 132-02 Liberty Avenue in South Richmond Hill to investigate reports of a large collection of e-bike batteries, according to the FDNY.
That’s when they found 40 migrants, mostly from Senegal, sleeping in the basement and on the first floor — and realized the true number was actually twice that.
“A further probe revealed that up to 80 individuals have been living there, taking turns to sleep due to the limited space available,” fire officials said, adding that it issued a vacate order for the building.