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Staten Island migrant shelter hit with vacate order over safety concerns
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 16, 2023
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Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 16, 2023
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The Fire Department ordered that a controversial migrant shelter in Staten Island be vacated Monday as Mayor Eric Adams announced a shelter at Floyd Bennett Field will finally open.
Fire Department inspectors cited “failure to provide required sprinkler system and to maintain fire alarm system in working order” in the vacate order posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. The shelter in a former Catholic school in the Arrochar neighborhood, which could accommodate up to 300 single adult women and families, has been the site of regular protests for months.
Similar FDNY vacate orders are expected at other migrant shelters, according to The New York Post. City Hall spokesperson and FDNY representatives did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether other sites received similar orders.
Staten Island Councilmember Joe Borelli confirmed people were ordered to clear out of the shelter in the St. John Villa Academy building on Landis Avenue.
“Finally, the pendulum is swinging back and folks are starting to realize this has been ridiculous from the beginning,” Borelli told Gothamist.
Borelli is among several Staten Island elected officials who have cited the city’s decision to house migrants in the borough while mulling secession from New York City.
City Hall spokesperson Amaris Cockfield did not share plans on where the migrants will go next.
“Asylum seekers have undergone long and arduous journeys before arriving in New York City, and we are committed to keeping them safe while staying at emergency shelters. When identifying emergency sites, we work with agencies to ensure we are taking the proper fire protective measures,” Cockfield said.
Since last year, the city has rented space in hotels and other congregate settings to accommodate migrants arriving daily. City Hall said an average of around 600 people arrived daily in the last week.
The vacate order came on the same day Adams announced there are currently more than 64,000 migrants living in more than 210 emergency shelter sites.
The Floyd Bennett Field shelter – which was the subject of lengthy negotiations between the city, state and federal government – will open in the next few weeks as a “semi-congregate setting” for families, Adams said. Privacy dividers with locks will be installed between beds for approximately 500 families.
Under the city’s right-to-shelter law, families are not allowed to stay in congregate, barracks-style shelters.
Adams also said his administration will begin providing notices to migrant families with children they will be kicked out of shelters in 60 days. The city began issuing the 60-day notices to single adults over the summer.
Tagged
Asylum Seekers
staten island
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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