Impending FDNY inspection may force closure of St. John Villa shelter

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — An impending FDNY crackdown on migrant shelters around the city has local elected officials hoping for the end of a long-fought shelter in Arrochar.

Borough President Vito Fossella led a press conference Friday morning outside the former St. John Villa Academy with his fellow elected officials — State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore), State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/South Brooklyn), Assemblymember Michael Reilly (R-South Shore), Assemblymember Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn), Councilmember Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) and Councilmember David Carr (R-South Shore) — to call for the closure of the migrant shelter that Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has operated there since Aug. 25.

“They’re going to be evacuating the Tompkins Avenue shelter, because there’s asbestos inside the building,” Scarcella-Spanton said Friday. “We will absolutely continue to work together to figure this out.”

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