NEW YORK—A couple strode to the entrance of The Roosevelt Hotel before being stopped by a security guard. They explained they just wanted to get drinks at the bar before the guard informed them that the hotel was closed.
“When did that happen?” they asked, surprised.
It’s an easy mistake to make. Despite closing in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotel doesn’t look closed. Scripted awnings bearing the name of the iconic hotel, named after President Theodore Roosevelt, still hang above the entrances, and a buzz of activity surrounds its doors.
After the hotel closed, and with a rising wave of illegal aliens arriving in New York City, city officials began directing migrant families to the hotel in…
