Morgan Evers leads “Hands Off’ visits to Kingsbridge shops

"We’re using our privilege to make sure you know that these people can get the resources they need, the information they need,"”

Morgan Evers

Anxiety over immigration enforcement continues to ripple through the Northwest Bronx. Assembly District 81 candidate Morgan Evers invited residents to Kingsbridge to mark Hands Off NYC’s Day of Action, as advocacy groups work to prepare communities for the possibility of expanded enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, under the Trump administration.

Rather than staging a rally, the Dec. 13 event unfolded through direct conversations with business owners and employees along the commercial corridor on West 231st Street. Evers gathered volunteers at the corner of West 231st Street and Kingsbridge Avenue for an afternoon focused on merchant outreach and resident education.

Drifting in and out of grocery stores, eateries and barbershops, volunteers handed out Know Your Rights cards, whistles, privacy signage and multilingual pamphlets explaining the difference between administrative and judicial warrants. Organizers said the goal was to help businesses and customers understand how to respond lawfully and safely if ICE agents appear.

Hands Off NYC’s Day of Action coordinated the efforts of neighborhood groups throughout New York City as ICE threatens to expand its already vigorous enforcement. The outreach comes as ICE activity in New York City has accelerated. Arrests by ICE during just six months under the Trump administration surpassed the total number recorded during all of 2024, according to data reported by NY1.

That surge has heightened concern in dense, immigrant-rich neighborhoods like Kingsbridge, where fear has become palpable, and some businesses say they have seen a drop in customers since President Donald Trump took office.

For many volunteers, the day was defined less by policy than by the response they encountered inside local businesses. Kathy Solomon, who spent the afternoon walking storefront to storefront with fellow resident Michael Stoller, said she was struck by how receptive people were.

“When we were in KFC, I got this feeling of ‘I love my fellow New Yorkers. We’re all strangers but there is this real connection even though we’re all different,’” she said.

When The Press returned to the same KFC later that day, a “Private Area” sign had already been posted in a back room.

Longtime Kingsbridge residents Deborah Wallace, 80, and her husband, Rod Wallace, 84, were also among those present, handing out Know Your Rights cards to passersby.

“I was amazed at how receptive the people were, very grateful,” Deborah said.

Reflecting on the afternoon and why he joined, Rod noted, “it’s like one of these horrible moments in our country’s history. And you got to look in the mirror and say, like, what are you going to do when this happens here?”

The neighborhood’s diversity, Deborah added, makes it particularly vulnerable to ICE activity.

“In my building, we have Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Romanian, okay, Urdu and Hindi,” she said. “So, this neighborhood is very vulnerable to ICE action.”

Both said their participation was shaped by decades of activism, including civil rights protests and demonstrations during the Vietnam War.

Evers, a Democrat seeking to represent Kingsbridge, Riverdale, Marble Hill, Norwood and Woodlawn, said she organized the Kingsbridge action both to protect residents, businesses and their customers and to introduce herself directly to the community she hopes to represent.

She said the event reflected her belief that public service begins with presence and preparation, not just legislation.

“We’re using our privilege to make sure you know that these people can get the resources they need, the information they need,” she said, explaining how business owners can ask agents to leave if they do not present a valid judicial warrant.

Evers said the Kingsbridge action was the first Hands Off NYC event she had personally organized, though she has participated in rapid-response trainings and community organizing for years.

The event also drew participants from outside the Bronx, with attendees traveling from Yonkers after seeing the action promoted on Instagram. Before heading home, they said they hoped to replicate similar efforts in their own neighborhoods.

Beyond Kingsbridge, concerns reflected there are widespread. Forty-two percent of Hispanic adults say they worry that they or someone close to them could be deported, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year.

While Evers has focused on direct community engagement and said she would prioritize passage of the MELT Act if elected, Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, who is currently serving his 16th term, has taken a different legislative approach. Dinowitz has publicly opposed ICE detentions and spoken at advocacy rallies but has declined to co-sponsor the bill.

Despite those differences, Evers said the Kingsbridge action underscored the importance of local initiatives alongside legislative outcomes.

“It’s just, it’s been really positive,” she said. “This was a community effort. And we do the best work when we work together.”