Staten Island, NY — Community tension flared on Staten Island Wednesday night as an estimated 1,000 people, including residents and community activists, gathered at the former St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar to protest plans to turn the site into a 300-bed migrant shelter.
The legal status of the proposed shelter has been a point of contention. A judge temporarily halted the plan to house migrants at the academy, only for the ruling to be overturned within hours following an appeal by city officials.
City authorities cited a “significant surge” in arrivals, reporting that over 600 people are entering the city each day. This announcement coincides with a recent poll showing that most New York voters believe the state should now restrict migration.
St. John Villa Academy, a former all-girls Catholic school, has a long history on Staten Island. Established in 1922 by the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, it served the community for nearly a century before closing its doors in 2018 due to financial difficulties.
While the site has been dormant since its closure, the proposed conversion into a migrant shelter has ignited debate, putting the academy back into the spotlight and sparking conversations about migration policy and community welfare.