NYC Mayor Adams: Asylum seeker crisis ‘will destroy New York City’

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With nearly 110,000 migrants, who the Adams administration identifies as asylum seekers, having made their way to the five boroughs since April 2022, the mayor said this crisis “will destroy New York City.”

Two buses filled with about 50 migrants initially arrived at the shelter last month. About half of the migrants who arrived at the shelter requested to leave, citing safety concerns related to the ongoing protests, sources said.

The site has the capacity to house 350 people, according to City Hall officials.

While most of the protesters recently have focused on safety and quality-of-life concerns, some members of the crowds have lobbed insults at the arriving migrants and staff working at the St. John Villa site.

Tensions among the groups have prompted the NYPD to beef up the police presence around the St. John Villa Academy building and block off the location with metal barriers. In addition, cameras were installed nearby the former school last month in an effort to step up security at the location.

After a recent tour of the site with the city Office of Emergency Management representatives, several Staten Island elected officials requested in a letter the agency, which oversees the site, institute a curfew like those at city homeless shelters operated by Department of Social Services and Department of Homeless Services, said Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island). The letter was also signed by other elected officials who represent the area: State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), Assemblyman Mike Tannousis (R-East Shore), Borough President Vito Fossella and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn).

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