At least 400 protesters rage over new migrant shelter at former Catholic school on Staten Island
At least 400 enraged protesters rallied Monday outside a shuttered Catholic school-turned-migrant shelter on Staten Island — where they unveiled an enormous blue tarp with white paint that said “NO F%*KIN WAY!”
Neighbors of the 300-bed makeshift shelter at the former St. John Villa Academy in the borough’s Arrochar section seethed over what they described as the unceremonious dumping of unvetted migrants in their midst.
“It’s a clusterf–k,” a resident who lives a block from the school told The Post. “The city really screwed it up. Before we even talk about whether I want migrants here or not, the way it was handled was terrible.
“It was done in a cloud of secrecy.”
At least one cop car and a uniformed officer was seen on-duty during the Monday evening rally.
“The message is that here in Staten Island, we love immigrants,” insisted John Tobacco, one of the rally organizers, told The Post. “We’re the most Italian-American congressional district in the country, and all our ancestors came here legally. We love anyone who comes here legally.
“To me, it’s an American message — this is unsustainable,” he said of the crush of asylum seekers to the Big Apple.
“This isn’t our problem,” he said. “I think people are fed up. We want answers from people that we voted for.”
He said the abandoned school sits between two active elementary schools — including an all-girls campus.
Local GOP state Assemblyman Michael Tannousis told The Post the area was “blindsided” by the new shelter, leading to stronger opposition.
“I found out about this location when it was already out in the newspaper,” he said, adding the city previously denied to him they were going to house migrants there.
Monday’s demonstration grew so fiery at one point that a Post reporter was harassed to leave.
More than 1,000 demonstrators had protested outside the makeshift Staten Island shelter last week, with cops saying they anticipated twice as many to converge on the former school Monday evening. Police beefed up their presence Sunday after erecting barricades at the scene.
Tobacco said at least nine migrants are already at the shelter, while other reports suggest nearly two dozen are already there — with fears that more are coming.
Dear President Biden and Congressional Leaders:
The New York business community is deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis that has resulted from the continued flow of asylum-seekers into our country.
The situation is overwhelming the resources not only of the border region but of city and state governments across the nation. New York City, alone, has received more than 100,000 asylum seekers whose status is uncertain and who lack authorization to work. Increasingly, these are families with young children.
We write to support the request made by New York Governor Hochul for federal funding for educational, housing, security, and health care services to offset the costs that local and state governments are incurring with limited federal aid.
In addition, there is a compelling need for expedited processing of asylum applications and work permits for those who meet federal eligibility standards. Immigration policies and control of our country’s border are clearly a federal responsibility; state and local governments have no standing in this matter.
There are labor shortages in many U.S. industries, where employers are prepared to offer training and jobs to individuals who are authorized to work in the United States. The business community is also providing in-kind assistance and philanthropic support to organizations that are addressing the immediate needs of this largely destitute population.
Bipartisan action by Congress and the Administration is ultimately the way to resolve immigration issues, but that will take time.
In the interim, we urge you to take immediate action to better control the border and the process of asylum and provide relief to the cities and states that are bearing the burdens posed by the influx of asylum seekers.
122 business leaders signed the letter, including:
- Albert Bourla, Chairman & CEO, Pfizer Inc. and Co-Chair, Partnership for New York City
- Rob Speyer, President & CEO, Tishman Speyer and Co-Chair, Partnership for New York City
- Tim Cawley, Chairman, President & CEO, Con Edison
- Carmine Di Sibio, Global Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young LLP
- Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Catherine Engelbert, Commissioner, WNBA
- Laurence D. Fink, Chairman & CEO, BlackRock
- Jane Fraser, Chief Executive Officer, Citi
- Jeff Gennette, Chairman & CEO, Macy’s, Inc.
- Henry R. Kravis, Co-Founder & Executive Co-Chairman, KKR
- Steven Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Communications, Inc.
- Charles Scharf, CEO & President, Wells Fargo & Company
- Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone
- David M. Solomon, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs
- Steven R. Swartz, President & CEO, Hearst
- Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City
- Marty Burger, Chief Executive Officer, Silverstein Properties, Inc.
- Michael Houston, President, US, WPP
- Michel A. Khalaf, President & CEO, MetLife, Inc.
- Anish Melwani, Chairman & CEO, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton
- Daniel Meyer, Founder & Executive Chairman, Union Square Hospitality Group
- Michael M. Roberts, President & CEO, HSBC Bank USA
- Steven Roth, Chairman & CEO, Vornado Realty Trust
- Pamela S. Wasserstein, President, Vox Media
- Eric Zinterhofer, Founding Partner, Searchlight Capital
About 10 people got out of a van and went into the building Monday morning, but it was not clear if they were also migrants or workers.
“I think they should come the same way my ancestors came through — Ellis Island,” a resident said. “Make them come [into the US] the right way.
“Everybody has to get vaccinated, and why don’t they?” she said. “We don’t even know the first thing about them. You’re letting everybody into the country.”
The St. John Villa shelter has become the newest focal point for the migrant crisis that has engulfed the Big Apple since the spring of last year. More than 104,000 migrants from the US border have been shipped to the five boroughs, and nearly 56,000 are now being housed by the city.
“It’s a f–k you to Staten Island,” said neighborhood resident Tony Banks, who also attended a rally in Manhattan on Sunday.
“This is possibly the worst site picked in New York City,” Banks said. “Why would they pick this particular site other than just trying to say to the [Staten Island] politicians involved, ‘F–k you. This is what we can and will do.’”
On Sunday, more than 100 demonstrators also rallied outside Manhattan’s Gracie Mansion to protest Mayor Eric Adams’ handling of the crisis, with five people — including Guardian Angels founder and former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa — arrested at the scene.
The rally turned rowdy when about two dozen counter-protesters clashed with demonstrators.
Sliwa is expected to be on hand at the Staten Island rally as well.
Meanwhile, City Hall remained silent Monday, failing to respond to Post inquiries about the controversial Staten Island shelter.
Local elected officials even tried to block the use of St. John Villa as a shelter with a last-minute letter to the city Office of Emergency Management on Friday urging, at minimum, an 11 p.m. curfew for migrants.
“My colleagues and I continue to oppose the shelter opening at Villa and will continue to use every avenue available to us to stop it,” GOP city Councilman David Carr, who signed the letter, said Saturday.
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy and David Propper
