Local pols slammed a shelter operator they say forced seniors out of their senior living facility on Staten Island to open a migrant shelter.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
The not-for-profit organization operating a temporary migrant shelter in Staten Island is facing criticism from local pols for allegedly ousting the residents of the former senior living facility earlier this year after they were told the site was up for sale.
A 95-year-old veteran was among the some 50 residents at Island Shores Residence at 111 Father Capodanno Blvd. who were displaced in March at the behest of the site operator, Homes for the Homeless.
“The thing I’m annoyed about is how they did it. It was very disgraceful what they did to the people in Island Shores. They gave us time to get out, but they never said when and they never said they were going to get us out and then one day there’s a thing on the board, a notice on the board, you gotta be out by March 15. I think that gave us like a month and a half,” said Frank Tammaro, a 95-year-old Korean War Veteran who had lived at Island Shores for about four and a half years.
“I thought my suitcases were gonna be on the curb, because I’m not that fast. If it wasn’t for my daughter, they would have been on the curb,” Tammaro said, adding that “we didn’t have a chance to actually make any attempt to stop them because there wasn’t enough time.”
During a Sept. 25 press conference at her district office, U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis accused Homes for the Homeless of “stonewalling” elected officials who she said previously offered to help keep the facility open for its senior residents.
“My blood pressure went through the roof when I found out that this had happened. I was really upset to think that our tax dollars as citizens of New York were being utilized to house citizens of other countries while at the same time kicking out veterans, people who put their life on the line,” said…
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