(The Hill) — Chase Bank says it has begun closing formerly 24/7 ATM vestibules at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. in the New York City area as a result of the “rising crime and vagrancy” in the city.
The U.S.-based national bank shared the news in response to a Twitter user’s question last week.
“Our apologies. We decide to close several ATM vestibules at 5PM or 6PM, aligning the hours of service to that of the normal branch hours, due to rising crime and vagrancy that occurred in these previously 24/7 vestibules,” Chase Bank’s customer support service wrote in a tweet.
In a statement to The Hill, a Chase Bank spokesperson said that the closures will be temporary and represent a minority of the bank’s ATMs.
“For the safety of our customers and employees, we may temporarily close some ATMs overnight,” the Chase Bank spokesperson said. “Only a small portion of the ATMs we have in NYC are closing after regular business hours and many of our ATMs remain open 24 hours.”
Several Chase customers took to social media to express their frustration with the decision.
“Are you going to refund the ATM fees to customers when we get ripped off to use a bodega ATM to pay for our late night slice of pizza, because you can’t provide a basic service to account holders?” One Twitter user wrote in response to the latest changes. “I didn’t think so.”
“I know this outcome wasn’t ideal, but your experience is still very important to us,” the company’s customer support service said in response to the user. “To help us find ways to improve, I’ll make sure your voice is heard.”
Chase follows other banking institutions such as City National Bank and Citizens who have closed up their ATM vestibules earlier in the day in the New York area in an effort to keep out homeless people, according to New York FOX affiliate WNYW.