Arthur Chi'en has the latest on the Staten Island migrant shelter that was shutdown.
STATEN ISLAND - The FDNY was on hand at the St John Villa Academy on Monday, shutting down the Staten Island migrant shelter site over the lack of a working sprinkler system and fire alarms.
Hundreds packed up their belongings and lined up to get onto vans and buses.
One of the migrants leaving, a 30-year-old migrant from Nicaragua who arrived in New York three weeks ago, told us he’s afraid because he doesn’t know where he’ll be going as the weather gets colder.
Counter-demonstrators near a rally protesting the opening of a temporary shelter for asylum seekers in the Staten Island borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. New York City recently opened a temporary shelter to house 300 migrants at St. John Villa Academy, a former Catholic School, drawing opposition from some Staten Island residents and anti-immigration activists. Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 28: Neighborhood residents, joined by anti-migrant activists, hold an 8th demonstration and rally to protest the city housing migrants at a closed Catholic school, St. John Villa Academy, September 28, 2023, in the Arrochar neighborhood of Staten Island, New York. The rally was a victory celebration after a judge ruled that migrants could not be housed at the Academy, and anti-immigration leaders claimed that the rest of the country was watching what they has accomplished. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 5: Staten Island residents of the Arrochar neighborhood, joined by right-wing political activists, hold a rally to protest New York City plans to house migrants in a closed Catholic school, St John Villa Academy, September 5, 2023, on the East Side of Staten Island, New York. After several large demonstrations, the neighborhood has become a focal point for resistance to the City and State plans to take in migrants from the Texas border and find shelter for them in the area. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 28: Neighborhood residents, joined by anti-migrant activists, hold an 8th demonstration and rally to protest the city housing migrants at a closed Catholic school, St. John Villa Academy, September 28, 2023, in the Arrochar neighborhood of Staten Island, New York. The rally was a victory celebration after a judge ruled that migrants could not be housed at the Academy, and anti-immigration leaders claimed that the rest of the country was watching what they has accomplished. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
The shelter opened in August to ugly protests from local residents - sometimes ending up with arrests. It was to house 300 but took in 170, officials here say they’re being sent back to the Roosevelt Hotel - but believe it’s the safest solution for everyone.
NYC officials have been trying to roll back the city's "right to shelter" rule following the arrival of over 120,000 migrants since last year.
"And what happened today is that the people of this community got what they deserved," Fosella said.
A spokesperson for the city says it continues to struggle to do the best it can for migrants who continue to arrive at the pace of 10k a month. But has been sending a message to Washington for a federal policy to stem the flow.