An impromptu trailer park housing migrants has sprung up around a Bronx Little League field, raising concerns among parents and coaches regarding safety and sanitation.
With more than two dozen assorted vehicles, including seemingly inoperable motor homes and camping trailers established along Allerton and Bruner Avenues near Astor Little League, the area has transformed into a makeshift residential zone.
One parent, Andrés Rodriguez, talking to the New York Post expressed a palpable concern, saying, “We don’t know who they are on that street or what they’re capable of.”
Edwin Pichardo, another parent, pointed out the tangible anxiety of “not knowing who’s next to you,” adding that children cannot even walk to their parents’ cars alone.
Conversely, migrants like Gilberto Laguna, who arrived from Venezuela five months ago and now reside in the trailer park, highlight their non-threatening existence and simultaneous dissatisfaction with their living conditions.
Laguna explained, “We just hang out and go to work. We don’t want to be living here either, we don’t like it.”
Other parents, whose children play at the field pointed out several issues during their visits to the park, including the trash heaps surrounding the RVs, the odor of urine and other waste, and various obstacles related to parking.
In August, a department representative said that the NYPD removed a camper and three other vehicles from the vicinity of two streets. However, parents expressed frustration when they returned en masse just two weeks later.
Legal regulations stipulate that an RV cannot monopolize parking for more than 24 hours.
The NYPD representative stated that a department commanding officer “is aware of the condition in that area and is working to correct it,” also noting that a car was towed from the area this week due to lack of registration.
The president of the Astor Baseball League expressed his hope that the city would devise a lasting solution to the situation, stating, “It’s dangerous. I want my kids to be safe.”
