Local Politics · New York, NY
NYC Mayor Demands ICE Stop Using City Park Lots, Threatens Lawsuit
Mayor Zohran Mamdani sent a letter Monday to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE officials demanding federal agents stop using city-owned parking lots in the Bronx and Queens for immigration enforcement staging without authorization. Reports identified agent activity at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and along 111th Street near Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, where lots sit adjacent to a city-run preschool and cultural institutions. Mamdani cited a February executive order barring non-city law enforcement from using municipal parking lots as staging grounds without a judicial warrant. The administration also announced new Parks Department protocols requiring workers to verify federal agents' credentials, contact agency attorneys, and refrain from granting access to restricted areas absent proper authorization.