‘Who is being accountable?’: Parents, pols protest outside Midwood school used to house migrants overnight

Outraged parents and elected officials held a protest outside James Madison High School Wednesday morning after the city placed some 1,900 migrants there overnight to ride out a storm.

City officials evacuated the mega-migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field on Tuesday and hurried asylum-seekers to the Midwood school — amid safety concerns that the embattled shelter wouldn’t be able to withstand the heavy rains and strong winds that battered New York City on Tuesday night. The migrants were bussed to the school at about 4 p.m. on Jan. 9 and were transported back to Floyd Bennett Field at about 4:15 a.m. on Jan. 10, after the rain had subsided, city officials said. 

State sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton issued a statement following the rally, saying she feels for the 4,000 students “being forced into remote learning.” Scarcella-Spanton advocated for the passage of legislation she introduced last year that would prohibit the city from using schools and daycare centers as migrant shelters.

“It’s more important than ever to pass this crucial legislation so that these shortsighted decisions can be prevented. As this generation of children has already had their education interrupted during the pandemic, we must do everything possible to ensure that it Never happens again to to situations like this one,” she said.

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