The Pakistani government is screwing New York City taxpayers \u2013 again.<\/p>\n
After pocketing $146.6 million to run the Roosevelt Hotel as a migrant shelter for two years, Pakistan\u2019s state-owned property is now stiffing the city for $13.6 million in overdue property taxes and nearly $1 million in unpaid water bills, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n
Even worse: A sweetheart deal with the feds to redevelop the Midtown landmark<\/a> into a supertall skyscraper could let Pakistan dodge all future taxes \u2014 potentially costing the city tens of millions per year.<\/p>\n The Roosevelt Hotel housed tens of thousands of migrants in NYC. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n The Pakistani-owned hotel at 45 East 45th St. signed a payment agreement with the city\u2019s Department of Finance in September 2023, when it already owed $11.6 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n But despite getting paid millions by taxpayers to house migrants, Pakistan blew off a $573,361 payment due Jan. 2 and skipped a $3.9 million half-year payment.<\/p>\n \u201cThis property is currently in default on its payment plan,\u201d a DOF spokesman confirmed.<\/p>\n The hotel\u2019s annual property tax bill hits $7.7 million this July.<\/p>\n A joint venture between Pakistan and the US government to demolish the Roosevelt <\/a>and build an office tower could trigger a federal tax exemption, since the State Department typically asks the DOF to grant one when a foreign government buys US property.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not received a letter in this case,\u201d the DOF spokesman said. \u201cHowever, any charges that accrued prior to government ownership must still be paid.\u201d<\/p>\n Migrants were often seen gathering outside the Roosevelt Hotel. James Keivom<\/p>\n The Roosevelt served as the primary intake center for migrants flooding the city starting in 2022<\/a>, processing more than 173,000 of the 232,000 asylum seekers. The hotel often housed 2,600 migrants a night from May 2023 through June 2025, under a $220 million contract that paid about $202 per night per room.<\/p>\n What was supposed to be a safe refuge for asylum seekers became a hellhole<\/a>. Migrants slept in retail spaces and on sidewalks as the hotel became overwhelmed.<\/p>\n The Roosevelt became a hub for the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua<\/a>, which organized moped robbery crews out of the hotel, according to Homeland Security officials.<\/p>\n Jose Ibarra stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel months before killing Laken Riley in Georgia. Getty Images<\/p>\n Another Venezuelan illegal housed at the Roosevelt, Jose Ibarra, departed the hotel in September 2023 and less than six months later, murdered University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.<\/a> Ibarra is serving a life sentence without parole.<\/p>\n