Staten Island residents, lawmakers sound off on borough’s 2 emergency shelters for migrants

NEW YORK — Some Staten Island residents sounded off against two shelters for migrant families in the borough at a meeting on Tuesday night.

Families seeking asylum spent the evening divvying up donations outside the Holiday Inn Express, one of two hotels in the Travis neighborhood where the city is now temporarily housing migrants, CBS2’s Ali Bauman reported.

“We are getting eight, nine, 10 buses a day, hundreds of individuals, children with nothing but the clothes on their backs who are coming into Port Authority,” Department of Homeless Services First Deputy Commissioner Molly Park said.

Since April, more than 19,000 people seeking shelter have come into New York City, with the shelter system seeing a 30 percent increase in six months.

Along with the massive tents being built on Randall’s Island, the city has opened 48 emergency sites to house people, including the Staten Island hotels.

“This is a citywide crisis and all of us are going to be impacted, and Staten Island is going to be impacted like the other four boroughs,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

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During the virtual meeting Tuesday, Staten Island politicians bemoaned the situation.

“It’s having an affect on the sense of security folks in the neighborhood have,” Councilman David Carr said.

“The mayor has to call on President Biden to reinstate the policies that were working under President Trump that he dismantled,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said.

The community board chair read questions from residents, some about the next steps.

“What is the long-term plan for this program?” read one question.

However, most questions were about safety.

“How will you guarantee the safety and quality of life for taxpaying homeowners, renters and shop owners in the community?” another question asked.

READ MORE: Mayor Eric Adams declares state of emergency over migrant crisis, says NYC on track to spend $1 billion

The city has 24-hour security at the shelter sites looking both inward and outward, and social workers want to remind people the majority of migrants who have come into this city are families with young children.

“The data shows that they’re much more likely to be victims of crime,” Park said.

“We are not talking about danger or that crime will go up in these neighborhoods. We’re talking about the fact that the city of New York does not have the resource and capability to be able to help these people,” Assemblyman Michael Tannousis said.

The shelters are temporary, but the city says it’s possible it may have to expand to more sites if they reach capacity.