A 16-month-old girl was found dead this week at an Upper West Side hotel that is being used as a shelter, residents said.

There were no visible signs of trauma when cops discovered the baby’s body at The Belnord Hotel around 12:50 p.m. on Wednesday, police said.

The medical examiner is still investigating the cause of death.

The NYPD Crime Scene Unit remove evidence collected from the Belnord Hotel on July 10, following a search warrant following the disturbing discovery of a 16-month-old baby girl who was found dead on July 9, 2026. Kyle Mazza/Shutterstock

Residents told The Post that the baby and her mother had been living at the hotel for about seven months — and the mom apparently had substance abuse issues.

“The night before, we could hear her in her room hollering and yelling, ‘Shut the f–k up. Shut the f–k up. Shut the f–k up.’ It had to have been like maybe 12, maybe 11, at night. 
And then that following day, we got word that the baby was DOA,” a neighbor, who declined to share her name, said.

The mother was known for taking any pills she could get her hands on and washing it down with alcohol — all while having the infant strapped to her chest, the resident claimed.

She also allegedly breastfed the infant while using drugs.

The neighbor complained numerous times to security, and alleged that the shelter’s staff and case workers failed to intervene despite witnessing her and other residents’ dangerous behavior.

“I kept complaining to security, ‘Y’all keep letting these people in this building — pissy ass drunk and high — somebody is gonna die. And if they don’t die, they’re gonna accidentally roll over on their baby and accidentally kill them, because they’re so f–king high,” she said.

The Belnord Hotel had served as one of New York City’s emergency migrant shelter for families with children since 2023. Kyle Mazza/Shutterstock

“She was always high. I’ve never seen her not high. And not just high, but drunk, super f–king high, fly and touch the sky. High, high and drunk. 
And yet, security allowed her to go straight to her room.”

Another resident said the mother was outside the hotel smoking the day after her child’s death.

The city’s Department of Social Services declined to confirm whether the hotel was being used as a shelter, citing city laws that protect the privacy of its residents.

The Amsterdam Avenue and 88th Street hotel had served as one of the city’s emergency migrant shelters for families with children since 2023.

That contract with the Children’s Rescue Fund had ended on June 30, records show.

Migrant shelters have since been consolidated with shelters for the homeless and domestic violence survivors.

Police described the unit that the child died in as an “apartment.”

Rates for rooms at the hotel go as low as $75 per night.