STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — After migrants were moved into the former St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar Friday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order halting its use as a shelter, according to Staten Island elected officials.
State Senator Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore), Assemblymen Michael Reilly (R-South Shore), Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore) said Judge Wayne Ozzi granted a temporary restraining order in Richmond County Supreme Court on Friday blocking the migrant shelter, despite the arrivals Friday afternoon.
According to Attorney Mark J. Fonte, a vacate order was issued by Ozzi.
It was unclear at the time of publication about how the vacate order will be carried out.
Two bus-loads of migrants arrived Friday in Arrochar at the former St. John Villa Academy despite a weeks-worth of protests against the shelter, which city officials confirmed Monday.
The buses pulled in along Cleveland Place a little before 1 p.m. and about 50 migrants got off as a crowd of resident protestors jeered at them telling them they were unwelcome and to “go home.”
”The outrage and insanity continues. This is wrong on so many different levels. We will continue to fight these ridiculous policies any way we can,” Borough President Vito Fossella said. “The people of Arrochar, the parents and children of St. Joseph Hill Academy and PS 39 have the right to be disgusted.
SOME PROTESTERS ARRESTED
Police arrested three people in connection with a large protest where activists breached barriers at the location of a planned migrant shelter in Arrochar.
Streets were blocked during the Friday morning rush hour in and around Landis Avenue where the shelter is proposed at the former St. John Villa Academy.
One Staten Island man and two Queens residents were arrested around 1:20 a.m. on Friday on Landis Avenue, according to a statement from the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.
Police charged all three suspects with obstructing governmental administration and trespass. The Staten Islander also was charged with harassment, according to the police statement.
NYPD officers and vehicles were stationed in the area Friday morning. Landis was closed to through traffic from about Chicago Avenue to Major Avenue. Chicago was blocked at Hylan Boulevard. Cleveland Place also was shuttered in the area.
Members of the media are reporting from the scene.
Protesters breached police barriers while chanting “save our children” during continued protests against a migrant shelter at the former St. John Villa Academy on Thursday night.
Following a large protest that drew ire from more than 1,000 people Wednesday night, have been ongoing rallies against the shelter, which is expected to be open by the en of the week.
A small number of protesters who gathered during the day on Thursday quickly grew in the evening to more than 200 people.
Protesters who addressed the crowd all echoed the same sentiment: “We don’t want the migrant shelter.”
More than 50 police officers told the crowd, which included parents and their children, to stand behind barriers around the entrance to the building, but they refused. Witnesses said protesters breached the barriers and crossed Landis Avenue where the former school is located.
Soon after, protesters started to converge on three police vans parked at Hastings Street, but organizer Scott LoBaido told the crowd “to keep the peace.”
In turn, the crowd started chanting “hold the line.”
Later in the evening, protesters were overheard arguing with police about why they were “being blocked” from walking down the street.
“This is not America. This is communism,” one protester shouted.
New York City officials confirmed earlier this week that up to 300 migrants — single females and adult families — would be sheltered at the site to help deal with the nearly 60,000 migrants currently in the city’s care. At least 100,000 have made their way to the five boroughs since April 2022.