NYC Banks Locking ATM Lobbies at Night

Banks in New York City have begun locking ATM lobbies at night, including to customers with a bank card, due to unhoused people using them for shelter.

"A lot of stuff happens at night," an unidentified ATM technician told the New York Post, adding that many banks "periodically" close their ATM lobbies at night.

"Like a number of other banks, we have temporarily closed some ATM vestibules overnight at certain New York City branch locations where we have seen repeat activity that could present a potentially dangerous situation for our customers or colleagues," Citizens Bank spokesperson Eleni Garbis said in a statement to the newspaper.

A Chase spokesperson said that the bank is "constantly evaluating the environment in a community," and noted that the ongoing situation is "fluid."

Matt Roberts, president of the 17th Precinct Community Council, said banks began pushing the New York Police Department to crack down on people using the lobby to sleep, but he noted that two police officers were attacked last March after asking a man to leave the lobby of a Citibank branch. Roberts said that after that incident, he began advising banks to start locking their lobbies at night.

"Unfortunately the private customers of ATM systems during off hours will be the collateral damage," he said.

• NYC Struggles to House Migrant Busloads From Texas
• N.Y. on Hunt for 5,000 Hotel Rooms as It Grapples With Waves of Bused-In Migrants