Pols slam migrant shelter operator for ousting former residents of Staten Island senior living home

By Adam Daly & Paul Frangipane

State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton said Homes for the Homeless “mishandled” the situation. Photo by Paul Frangipane

The not-for-profit organization operating a temporary migrant shelter in Staten Island is facing criticism from local pols for allegedly ousting the residents of the former senior living facility earlier this year after they were told the site was up for sale.

A 95-year-old veteran was among the some 50 residents at Island Shores Residence at 111 Father Capodanno Blvd. who were displaced in March at the behest of the site operator, Homes for the Homeless.

“The thing I’m annoyed about is how they did it. It was very disgraceful what they did to the people in Island Shores. They gave us time to get out, but they never said when and they never said they were going to get us out and then one day there’s a thing on the board, a notice on the board, you gotta be out by March 15. I think that gave us like a month and a half,” said Frank Tammaro, a 95-year-old Korean War Veteran who had lived at Island Shores for about four and a half years.

State sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who represents part of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, accused the organization of misleading its former residents and their families.

“Most importantly, Homes for the Homeless made it sound like they were going to be selling this facility and they left these seniors with the hope that maybe somebody else would be taking over, and they didn’t. So to me, they are the biggest culprit in this situation, they misled the seniors, they misled the veterans and they misled their families,” Scarcella-Spanton said.

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