A Staten Island resident holds up a sign in protest of a migrant shelter on March 9, 2024.
Photo by Barbara Russo
Nearly 100 Staten Island residents protested on Friday to shut down a migrant shelter in the borough’s Midland Beach neighborhood, vocalizing their anger and frustration over an ongoing community issue rife with controversy that has been making headlines for months.
Community activists Scott LoBaido and John Tabacco organized the rally after a group of local elected officials said in a letter to city and state officials this week that the shelter is operating in violation of multiple city codes.
The protestors, holding signs that read messages such as “only legal immigrants welcome,” and “bring back our seniors,” rallied outside the shelter at 1111 Father Capodanno Blvd., advocating to restore the building to its previous use as a senior living facility.
Last year, Homes for the Homeless, the nonprofit that runs the shelter and owns the property, contracted with the city through a $28 million lease to house migrants there for three years. As a result, the senior residents, approximately 50 of them U.S. veterans, were displaced to unspecified locations.
“They put the illegals before American citizens and our veterans who lived in that building for a long time. They were kicked out,” Debbie, a protestor, said. The migrants living at the shelter are not “illegal”; they are asylum-seekers who legally sought refuge at the border, and were granted temporary permission to enter the U.S. pending review of their asylum application.
LoBaido, an outspoken critic of the city’s handling of the migrant crisis, did not shy away from sharing his views on the issue.
“Staten Island is a unique borough,” he said. “We give our politicians a lot of heat throughout the years for not doing this or that. It’s tough to be a politician. But our local politicians, since we started this fight last year, have been on top…
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