New York City officials are responding to a potential hazardous materials incident at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan after five envelopes containing white powder were discovered in the Enforcement and Operations mailroom on Thursday morning. At least one person was being decontaminated on Thursday evening, presumably after opening an envelope.
Kaz Daughtry, New York City Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, confirmed at a press conference that there were no known injuries. The FDNY hazardous materials unit was on the scene, and nearby streets were closed as a precaution while authorities investigated the situation.
The building houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices and a detention facility. Last week, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to immediately improve conditions at the holding facility after complaints from inmates described dirty, odorous and overcrowded conditions.
Christopher Raia, assistant director of the FBI’s New York field office, said during the press conference that no threat remained for building workers or the public.
“The letters will be sent to the FBI lab in Quantico for additional testing,” Raia said.
“New Yorkers, I have been preliminarily briefed on the matter unfolding at 26 Federal Plaza where envelopes containing white powder were discovered,” Adams wrote in a post on X. “I want to also reassure you that there are no known injuries at this time.”
Daughtry wrote on X that an investigation is ongoing. He warned his followers to expect increased presence and temporary closures near the site, and asked residents to “avoid the area and follow official channels for verified updates.”
A video recorded by a detainee last month showed around 20 men in one of the buildings four hold rooms, several of whom appeared to be lying on the ground with thermal blankets but no mattresses, according to CNN.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan filed a restraining order on behalf of the inmates, requiring ICE to limit the building’s capacity and provide sleeping mats.
My conclusion here is that there is a very serious threat of continuing irreparable injury, given the conditions that Ive been told about, Kaplan said at a hearing Tuesday.
I think we all agree that conditions at 26 Federal Plaza need to be humane, and we obviously share that belief, said government lawyer Jeffrey Oestericher. He said he agreed inhumane conditions are not appropriate and should not be tolerated.
According to CNN, inmate Barco Mercado of Peru said his holding room was “extremely crowded” and “smelled of sewage.”
We did not always get enough water, Mercado told CNN. There was one guard who would sometimes hold a bottle of water up and people would wait to have him squirt some into our mouths, like we were animals.
It is not known whether a connection exists between the discovery of an unidentified white powder at 26 Federal Plaza and the recent revelations about inhumane conditions at the ICE holding facility inside.
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