New York GOP candidate hosts protest at motel housing migrants. Turns out there were none there

A New York City council candidate hosted a protest at a motel in Queens, claiming there were “15 busloads” of migrants being sent to reside there because it struck a contract with the city, but the motel said this was untrue.

Jonathan David Rinaldi, a Republican candidate for District 24, posted flyers on social media for a protest he arranged to occur on Tuesday (23 May) morning outside of Kew Motor Inn in Queens.

Mr Rinaldi claimed the owners of the motel “signed a deal with the city” to take in “15 busloads” of migrants from the US-Mexico border.

“Our property values, our children’s safety are on the line (sic),” Mr Rinaldi wrote on the flyer.

Videos posted to Instagram and Twitter showed the protesters and Mr Rinaldi passionately chanting and shouting about the migrants.

But there were no migrants at the Kew Motor Inn.

In a statement provided to The Independent, the Kew Motor Inn said they never struck a deal with the city nor were they housing any migrants.

“We have no intention of doing so nor have we signed any contract or made any kind of agreement with New York City or anybody else,” the Kew Motor Inn said.

It is unclear how the rumour started that the Kew Motor Inn was housing migrants as part of a deal with New York City, but a report from 77WABC radio dated 18 May claimed the information as well.

The Independent has reached out to Mr Rinaldi for comment.

Despite there being so signs of migrants at the Kew Motor Inn on Tuesday, protesters still staged a sit-in and Mr Rinaldi gave an impassioned speech in front of the motel.

According to footage posted to Twitter, New York Police Department officers showed up at the scene and seemingly put up small barricades forcing protesters out of the motel.

In response, they shouted derogatory language at the officers.

According to a Twitter post from ViralNewsNYC, officers threatened to arrest protesters who did not leave the hotel.

On Instagram, Mr Rinaldi re-posted videos and photos from the incident, where he falsely claimed his protest had “stopped the influx of migrants”.

The Kew Motor Inn said although they have received inquiries from New York City asking if they would house migrants, they declined due to the motel’s limited capacity.

Earlier this month, mayor Eric Adams said New York City was providing a place to stay for more than 30,000 asylum seekers. New York City released its new blueprint, titled “The Road Forward” to approach the expected increase in asylum seekers.

Part of the approach includes creating contracts with empty officers and hotels to temporarily house migrants.

The Independent has reached out to Mr Adam’s office for comment.

Kew Motor Inn said they had no plans to pursue any legal action against the protesters as they understand why they may be frustrated.