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Residents, lawmakers warned for months of potential for deadly ICE activity in Marble Hill
By
David Brand
Published Oct 9, 2026
Modified Oct 9, 2026
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David Brand
By
David Brand
Published Oct 9, 2026
Modified Oct 9, 2026
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Local residents and elected officials say they had warned for months that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were using a commercial parking lot in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood as a staging ground for operations that community members feared could turn violent, or deadly.
Councilmember Pierina Sanchez said ICE agents' shooting that injured a man two blocks away Thursday confirmed those fears.
“We all knew it was a matter of time before something happened around here because the ICE presence was so pervasive,” said Sanchez, a Democrat who is one of nine lawmakers who signed a letter last week urging the property owner to prohibit ICE from using the lot.
ICE agents shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal during an attempted arrest Thursday afternoon near the intersection of West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue, while his 5-year-old son sat in the car with him. Belgal, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was wounded in the neck and taken to Allen Hospital for treatment before being transported to Metropolitan Detention Center.
Sanchez said community members had reported near-daily ICE sightings at the lot and surrounding blocks in Marble Hill, which is considered part of Manhattan but is actually located across the river in the Bronx.
The corporation Kingsbridge Associates owns and operates The Shops at Marble Hill, a shopping center that is home to a Target store that has become a focal point for local activists’ over ICE’s presence in the neighborhood. The company is an affiliate of the larger firm Washington Square Partners. Local activists have photographed unmarked vehicles in the store’s parking lot that they say have been used in immigration operations.
Residents in Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester wrote to Target CEO Michael Fiddelke as early as April, asking the company to post signs denying immigration agents entry to the parking lot without signed judicial warrants and to train staff “on how to respond if immigration agents enter illegally.”
“We write to you as concerned members of the community and also as neighbors, customers, workers and Americans witnessing a crisis of leadership and accountability in our country,” the letter from residents states. “Target stores are more than just places of commerce; they hold a unique place in everyday life in communities across this country.”
Local residents and elected officials in Marble Hill, Manhattan said ICE has used this parking lot as a staging area for their operations in the area.
David Brand
But advocates and local leaders say the federal agency continued to make use of the two-story parking lot overlooking the Harlem River.
Paul Travis, the president of Washington Square Partners and the managing partner of Kingsbridge Associates, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. An attorney representing the company in a nonpayment case against a tenant business did not respond to a phone message.
Two people who identified themselves as members of the Kingsbridge Associates property management team Friday said the company had no formal agreement with ICE before instructing a Gothamist reporter to leave the private property.
Target spokesperson Lauren Frank previously told Gothamist the company has “no agreement in place with ICE or any other immigration enforcement agencies.”
An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its use of the lot.
The mall also includes Marshalls and Medrite and is located along a busy stretch of West 225th Street, across from the sprawling Marble Hill Houses.
Chris Clay, who lives across the street from where the shooting happened, described Marble Hill as a tight-knit community and said the incident has cast a pall over the neighborhood.
“We just all get along here, and then for that to happen, it was, like, an infiltration,” Clay said. “And then the depression starts coming in. Now I have to worry, because I'm mixed, so everyone thinks I'm Dominican, but I'm half black, half white, so people are like, ‘Yo, you better bring your ID with you.’”
Hannah Stauss, codirector of the immigrants rights group Hands Off NYC, said her organization has been compiling photos and accounts of ICE vehicles at the lot and others owned by private businesses across the city.
She called the shooting “a direct consequence” of allowing ICE agents to use the parking lot as a staging area.
“It’s clear, private corporations have a decision to make whether or not they’re going to be accomplices to a violent and rogue agency,” Strauff said.
A Target story in Marble Hill. Local elected officials wrote to the company asking it to prevent ICE agents from using the store parking lot as a staging ground for its operations in the area.
David Brand
Gothamist walked the lot and surrounding streets a day after Belgal was shot, but did not see any vehicles that matched those pictured at the scene of the shooting.
On Friday afternoon, city staffers and activists were canvassing the neighborhood. At least a dozen representatives from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs hung “know your rights” posters on utility poles and talked with passerby. A staff member working for state Sen. Robert Jackson, who also signed the letter to Kingsbridge Associates, entered businesses along West 225th Street to hand out flyers with similar information.
Marble Hill residents were still processing Thursday's events. Amy Velez, a nearby resident, said more New Yorkers are now just realizing what she and her neighbors have witnessed for months.
“We have family and friends that experience it every day. So this ain't out of the ordinary for us,” Velez said outside the mall Friday afternoon. “That’s just what life is for us. Unfortunately, they're snatching them where they can, and law doesn't really apply to ICE agents because they feel as though they're above the law.”
Nevertheless, business continued as usual in the neighborhood Friday.
Cecilia Becher, 62, spoke with Gothamist as she prepared al pastor tacos inside her food truck on 225th Street. She was disturbed by the shooting nearby, especially since a 5-year-old child was sitting in the car when ICE agents opened fire.
“This is traumatizing to kids,” she said. “I can't imagine how my kids would be in that situation.”
Becher said she moved from Mexico nearly 30 years ago and that most immigrants like her are simply looking for better economic opportunities.
“We don't care if we have to sweep, clean bathrooms, clean kitchens, or be sitting in the office,” she said. “We come here to provide for family, and we’re going to do the right thing to do it.”
Brittany Kriegstein contributed reporting. This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Hannah Stauss' name.
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new york city
public safety
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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