Politicians demand curfew at Staten Island migrant shelter

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After weeks of trying to block hundreds of migrants from moving into a former Catholic school, Staten Island officials are demanding that the city institute a curfew at the site before the new tenants move in.

In a letter submitted to the Office of Emergency Management Friday, five politicians requested that the 300 migrants staying at St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar be required to return by 11 p.m. each night.

Under current OEM guidelines, the comings and goings of the immigrants would not be limited, allowing them to “wander around quiet residential streets in the late hours of the night,” the politicians said.

The small rule will help quell growing concerns over crime in the Arrochar area as officials continue their mission to shutter the shelter’s doors, according to City Councilmember David Carr, who spearheaded the letter.

“My colleagues and I continue to oppose the shelter opening at Villa and will continue to use every avenue available to us to stop it,” Carr told The Post.

“We do feel that a curfew at OEM’s shelters is important even if Villa is taken off the table.”

Carr said he was briefed by the OEM during a tour of the shelter Friday, in which he learned the agency does not have a policy regarding curfews.


St.John Villa Academy in Staten island
There is no curfew planned for the 300 set to live at the converted shelter at St. John Villa Academy in Staten island.
Steve White

Migrant and homeless shelters run by the city’s Social Services Department, however, have a standard 11 p.m. curfew for sites throughout the city.

The politicians claimed that the burden of corraling the hundreds of migrants would fall on the NYPD, making neighborhood security “impossible.”

The department is already strained, with City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-SI) telling The Post that the city has already ignored the borough’s pleas to bulk up police units to fight ongoing crime.


Protesters outside the school.
Thousands of Staten Islanders took to the streets to protest the makeshift shelter planned for their neighborhood.
MEGA / Dennis Rees / MEGA

OEM did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The curfew request comes just one day after a slew of Republican lawmakers — and one longtime homeowner — filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the housing of hundreds of asylum seekers from moving into the Arrochar school.


City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli.
City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli said the city has already ignored the borough’s pleas to bulk up police units to fight ongoing crime.
Paul Martinka

They claimed the outdoor showers running on generators 24 hours a day would pose a “nuisance” and that the shelter would be a blight on a beautiful neighborhood.

Thousands of Staten Islanders stormed the streets earlier this week to protest the shelter site.

Three people were arrested on charges of trespassing and obstruction.

Thousands of migrants have been flooding into New York City each week since spring 2022, forcing city officials to scramble to open makeshift shelters and put families up in hotels as they arrive.

Nearly 60,000 migrants are currently in the care of the city, officials said earlier this week.

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