Dozens Protest Plan to Turn Former NYC College Dorm into Migrant Shelter; Former Manhattan College Dorm Could Soon House Migrants as NYC Shelter System Buckles

Dozens protest plan to turn former NYC college dorm into migrant shelter:

Protesters rallied Sunday outside a former college dorm in the Bronx, up in arms over City Hall’s plan to convert it into the Big Apple’s latest emergency shelter for asylum seekers.

As many as 75 angry demonstrators — armed with signs that read, “Affordable Housing, yes! Migrants, no!” and, “No land grabs! Save our Children” — stood in the pouring rain to slam plans for the one-time Manhattan College housing site.

“Over our dead bodies!” shouted Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, a frequent critic of the city’s handling of the unprecedented migrant crisis.

Across the street stood about 50 counter-protesters.

“If you look at the demographics of both groups, on the one side, the pro-migrant group,” Sliwa said. “They’re young progressive socialists for the most part. [On the other], these guys, senior citizens, many of them first-generation immigrants from Russia, Eastern Europe, who fled communism.”

Unlike earlier protests, no one on either side of the debate was arrested Sunday.

The recently renovated seven-story, 83-unit former college dorm on West 238th Street has become the latest tipping point for residents in the five boroughs pushing back against the migrant shelters.

The building was purchased by the Stagg Group for $18 million earlier this year and was to be a homeless shelter. ––>READ MORE HERE

Former Manhattan College dorm could soon house migrants as NYC shelter system buckles:

Migrant families could soon be housed in a former Manhattan College dorm in the Bronx as the Big Apple’s shelter system buckles under the surge of asylum seekers arriving in the city.

The Overlook Manor in Riverdale is now being considered as a shelter to help accommodate the 14,000 migrants arriving each month, The Riverdale Press reported Thursday.

The 7-story, 83-unit red brick building on W 238th Street was purchased by the Stagg Group earlier this year for $18 million — after Manhattan College renovated its on-campus housing and decided it didn’t need the extra space anymore, the local outlet previously reported.

The dorm was set to become a homeless shelter, however, Stagg’s senior vice president Jay Martino unexpectedly announced at a community board meeting on Monday that the property management company has been in talks with the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) “as it relates to migrant housing and families.”

The company’s not-for-profit partner Praxis Housing Initiative has secured a $5.3 million-year contract from the DHS, The Riverdale Press reported.

Under the deal, the city agency will pay the group $2.4 million a year in rent — which amounts to about $2,400 per month per unit for the asylum seekers, the outlet noted.

Martino insisted that nothing had been “decided definitively yet,” however, some Fieldston residents and business owners who spoke to The Post Thursday afternoon raised concerns about the project. —>READ MORE HERE

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