Furious protesters surround ex-NYC Catholic school turned 300-bed migrant shelter demanding Mayor Eric Adams move them – as they threaten to SHUT DOWN the Verrazano Bridge and bring travel chaos to the Big Apple
Furious protesters gathered outside a former Catholic school on Staten Island to express their anger at its use as a makeshift shelter for migrants.
Hundreds took to the streets outside New York City’s St. John Villa Academy on Tuesday to condemn the city’s handling of the massive influx of 107,000 asylum seekers pouring into the Big Apple since last year.
A 300-bed area has been set up on the old campus, prompting some local residents to worry about the safety of students at another school adjacent to the new migrant center.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has also turned to historic landmarks, including Manhattan’s Roosevelt and Redbury hotels, as he pleads for relief from the overwhelming numbers.
Adams’ mayoral rival Curtis Sliwa, who has campaigned relentlessly on the migrant issue in recent times, vowed Tuesday to close the nearby Verrazano and Goethels bridges to create travel chaos in protest of the situation.
The academy, which closed in 2018, has become the epicenter of Staten Islanders’ anger over the ongoing crisis. Tuesday’s protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations in the district, which also saw more than 1,000 people protest outside the school last week.
Angry protesters took to the streets of Staten Island to demonstrate against the influx of migrants into New York City, targeting a historic Catholic school used as a shelter.
Hundreds of residents gathered outside St. Johns Villa Academy to protest the use of the shuttered school as a migrant shelter
Locals were outraged at the city’s handling of the migrant crisis, costing officials millions every day, as buses continue to arrive from the southern border
Founded in 1922, St. Johns Villa Academy closed in 2018 due to low enrollment and startup costs. Its use as a migrant shelter has now sparked anger and it has become the epicenter of protests across Staten Island over the city’s handling of the crisis
The overwhelming numbers of refugees moving to New York come as the U.S.-Mexico border continues to set records for crossings. As the numbers continue to rise, several southern states, particularly Texas, have brought migrants north to send a statement about the porous border.
The issue has plagued Adams’ tenure, leading him to declare a state of emergency last fall, labeling the situation a “humanitarian crisis.”
The beleaguered mayor has pleaded for federal aid and has littered the Big Apple with short-term housing. But his efforts were not appreciated in Staten Island, as protesters at the event displayed signs denouncing his actions — with one reading: “Mayor Adams is a dork.”
“I realize it’s a sanctuary city, but there has to be a limit to our compassion,” protester Michele Rubin said. Fox5.
Adams’ rival in the 2021 mayoral election, Curtis Sliwa, was also at the protest, sending the crowd into a frenzy over the mounting crisis when he vowed to close the Verrazano and Goethels bridges to create chaos over the issue.
According to the plan, he would have to close the bridges with 16-wheeled trucks, but Sliwa refused to elaborate on the stunt when pressed by DailyMail.com.
Sliwa was arrested last week during another migrant demonstration, and his continued attacks on Adams’s handling of the crisis led the mayor to brand him a “buffoon.”
Curtis Sliwa sent the crowd into a frenzy Tuesday night as the migrant crisis continues to ravage New Yorkers
The mood at migrant protests in the Big Apple has deteriorated as the relentless influx continues, with one protester calling it a “losing battle” on Tuesday.
The closed campus of St. Johns Villa Academy has seen several protests against the influx in recent weeks
A woman at the demonstration said the shelter’s appearance led her to worry about her niece, who studies at St. Joseph Hill Academy, another Catholic school whose campus is adjacent to the new migrant shelter.
“We try to do what’s best for our kids (but) it’s like we’re fighting a losing battle,” Florence P., 68, told the New York Post.
She added that the city should not necessarily be against welcoming the migrants, but said they should all be vetted and vaccinated beforehand.
“We don’t know their background,” she said. “Until we find out and vet them, they’re welcome. Until then they are not welcome.’
“All these people are exaggerating,” added another protester, David Rem, 59.
Counter-demonstrators were also at the demonstration. They held signs welcoming the migrants and denouncing those on the other side of the issue as “racists.”
The gloom at the migrant demonstrations in the Big Apple has been evident for months, and last week a violent clash broke out outside Adams’ Gracie Mansion.
In a statement to FOX5 in response to Tuesday’s protest, the mayor’s office said, “New Yorkers are tired of bearing the brunt of this national crisis, and we sympathize with their concerns.
“We have opened more than emergency sites, including 15 large-scale humanitarian centers, and are constantly looking for new places to provide the shelter they demand for the more than 60,000 asylum seekers under our care and the thousands who come each week.
“But let’s be clear: the sites we’re finding now are the only options left. This situation calls for a broader state and national solution.”
A large sign was erected outside the campus condemning its new role as a reception center for migrants
Tensions have run high in the Big Apple, with a migrant protest turning violent last week as people clashed on opposite sides of the aisle
Counter-demonstrators were also present at the event with placards welcoming the refugees to the city
New York officials have been struggling for more than a year with the flood of refugees arriving almost daily, despite Adams saying there will soon be no more space.
He has warned that the situation could soon reach boiling point, with residents frustrated as he insisted it could end up costing $12 billion over the next three years.
While the number of illegal border crossings has been a growing problem for years, the influx escalated when Title 42, a pandemic-era border policy that gave officials more powers to detain, ended in May.
When the policy ended, the number of illegal border crossings exceeded 10,000 per day.
A large number of refugees have left Venezuela as a result of the country’s ongoing economic struggles, with more than seven million residents leaving the country of 29 million people in February, it reported. The New York Times.
While the vast majority of the seven million have chosen neighboring countries, many have found their way to the US. From 2015 to 2018, only about 100 Venezuelans were stopped at the border each year.
From October 2021 to August 2022, that number was 150,000.