Hundreds of Staten Islanders filled Landis Avenue in Arrochar Wednesday to express their frustration with the city’s plan to use the former St. John Villa Academy as a shelter for migrant families.

The mayor’s office says the site can fit 300 people.


What You Need To Know

  • The private school has been closed since 2018 and the city bought it the same year

  • The site is across the street from St. Joseph Hill Academy, a private school that serves kindergarten through 12th grade

  • The city says it can fit 300 people in the new site and could open as early as the end of the week

The private school has been closed since 2018 and the city bought it the same year.

“This is by far the worst decision of all of them,” said Scott Herkert, who has been living directly next door to the school for over 20 years. “It’s like a triple whammy. You got residents all around and you actually have two schools, one within feet of the migrants and one right around the corner, P.S. 39.”

The site is across the street from St. Joseph Hill Academy, a private school that serves kindergarten through 12th grade.

Rachel Manisclaco’s daughter is headed to the 7th grade at the school.

“First of all, the school has so many entrances and you can get onto this campus in every which way. They have guards but they’re not NYPD,” she said. “We’re gonna have a bunch of young men who are not vetted. God knows what kind of criminal activity, God knows what kind of diseases across the street from our girls? Absolutely not.”

The city says the site could open as early as the end of the week.

Frustrated residents and Staten Island elected officials called on the city to stop the plan.

“Where they gonna go? Where do they go after this? Where are they gonna walk around all day? They’ll be in the neighborhood unsupervised and can roam free,” said Mike Kader, a Staten Island resident.

Mayor Eric Adams has maintained the influx of migrants is unsustainable.

Officials say more than 100,000 migrants have already gone through the city’s care, with thousands continuing to arrive.

“We’re all immigrants at some point from this country, but this is another level,” said Herkert.

Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, who represents Staten Island, was one of the elected officials that attended the rally on Wednesday.

She announced new legislation Wednesday to try to prevent the federal government from using Fort Wadsworth as a migrant shelter.

Malliotakis says the Department of Homeland Security assessment team was seen reviewing the site. However, there is no official word on whether it is being looked at.