NYC Mayor Mamdani Vows Legal Action Over ICE Use of Public Parking Lots
The mayor’s office demands federal agents stop staging operations in Bronx and Queens parks without judicial warrants, citing new executive orders.
By Elena Perry ·
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani threatened federal immigration authorities with litigation on Monday, accusing the agency of using municipal parking lots as operational bases without permission.
The conflict centers on reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have parked vehicles and held meetings in unstaffed lots at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and along 111th Street in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.
In a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security, Mamdani demanded that federal officials order agents off city property. The letter is addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, acting ICE Director David Venturella, and ICE New York Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo.
Mamdani argued that the city had not authorized the use of these specific properties for enforcement activities. He noted that the Queens lots are located next to a city-run preschool and cultural institutions visited by children.
“ICE has no right to use our property as a base for tearing families apart,” Mamdani stated in a public release. “That goes for every park and every lot this City owns. This unauthorized use of City property must end now.”
The mayor’s demand relies on an executive order he signed in February. That directive bars non-city law enforcement agents from using city-owned parking lots as staging grounds unless they hold a judicial warrant or meet another specific legal exception.
Corporation Counsel Steven Banks confirmed the administration is ready to litigate if the practice continues. Banks stated that DHS is now on notice regarding the unauthorized use of the lots.
“There is no excuse for continuing to commandeer city property, and we are prepared to go to court if it does not stop,” Banks said.
The legal threat follows a similar appeal made in late October. At that time, Mamdani and more than 100 elected officials asked private garage owners to deny ICE access after federal agents shot a man in Marble Hill while his five-year-old son was in the car. Reports indicated agents had staged operations from a private lot nearby.
On the same day as the letter, the administration released new protocols for Parks Department employees. The rules require staff to request identification from federal officers seeking entry to nonpublic areas. Employees must forward any presented warrants to the department’s general counsel for review rather than assessing their validity independently.
If agents enter restricted areas without proper authorization, workers are instructed to call 911 and document the encounter when it is safe to do so. The policy prohibits staff from physically or verbally confronting officers.
For public areas, employees must notify supervisors and agency attorneys if they observe federal law enforcement activity. The guidance also directs staff to consider providing individuals with information about their rights and the city’s immigration legal assistance hotline after an encounter concludes.
