Hundreds of Muslim delivery drivers who congregate outside an East Village mosque have transformed the area into a noisy, violent, trash-strewn junkyard while driving businesses and residents out, fed-up locals said.<\/p>\n
At least three businesses near the Islamic Council of America Madina Mosque on First Avenue and East 11th Street have shut down in recent months, as longtime residents say the city has ignored their cries for help.<\/p>\n
The Post witnessed no less than 100 deliverymen last week pouring in and out of the mosque, with hundreds of electric bicycles piled along the curb, fouling the tony neighborhood where a three-bedroom townhouse just sold for $14.8 million. <\/p>\n
Hundreds of Muslim e-bike delivery drivers have overwhelmed a street corner in the East Village, driving out businesses and residents as the city does nothing, Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cI lived on that block for 13 years, it was very, very different,\u201d said Francisco, 40, who moved to Stuytown in October with his 2-year-old child and wife because of the chaos. \u201cThe block itself changed incredibly since the second those guys came in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s second oldest mosque operated for decades without incident, but things began to change about two years ago. Residents described a perfect storm of a surge in migrants, the city\u2019s installation of bike corrals on the block, and the ever-growing popularity of delivery apps.<\/p>\n
The drivers, who are mostly migrants from Islamic African nations, flock to the house of worship, which is under renovaiton, five times a day for prayer. But they also mill about near the side entrance, gab on their phones, scarf down food from a halal truck, and toss trash where they please \u2014 attracting a veritable army of rats, said locals.<\/p>\n
Two men even set up an al fresco barber shop offering fresh cuts and shaves. During the warmer months, as many as six barber chairs are active all day, locals said. Some of the men also bathe outside.<\/p>\n
The chaos is especially acute during Ramadan, which this year ended on March 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s insanity. . . . Its not fair to the residents who live there,\u201d area landlord Christine Renzi, who estimated she\u2019s lost six residential tenants and one commercial tenant in the last two years because of the mayhem, told The Post.<\/p>\n
Three businesses on 1st Avenue closed with owners saying their customers were scared off by the mass of e-bike riders who overwhelm the sidewalk. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s getting worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cTenants have been attacked by delivery drivers. They\u2019re washing their clothes outside. During the summertime they actually shower outside,\u201d Renzi said. <\/p>\n
In August, a naked, bathing delivery driver allegedly threatened to assault a resident of one of Renzi\u2019s buildings who objected to the shameless display, according to a formal complaint filed by the landlord on March 18 with the Manhattan Borough President\u2019s office. <\/p>\n
Former block resident Francisco said a similar encounter in front of the mosque finally prompted him to leave the nabe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was walking by, and this guy in his underwear, pretty much naked, is taking a shower. And I wasn\u2019t going to confront him but I pulled out my phone and started recording him,\u201d the 40-year-old said.<\/p>\n
A man clad in just underwear took a shower on the residential street
last August, sending one local over the edge. Obtained by NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looked over and he said, \u2018Do you mind not recording me.\u2019 I said, \u2018You\u2019re taking a bath in the middle of the street of a residential neighborhood,’\u201d Francisco said, adding, \u201cAfter that one I went home to my wife and said, \u2018I\u2019ve seen enough.’\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been at least 30 complaints to the city\u2019s 311 hotline since July, including three for noise, nearly a dozen for dirty sidewalks and street conditions, and others about the horde of e-bikes, according to city data<\/a>.<\/p>\n