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Community Protest Outside Overlook Manor Draws Divided Crowd
By Jocelyn Visnov, Editor-in-Chief
A community rally-turned-protest ensued outside Overlook Manor on Sunday, Sept. 24., following the controversial sale of the building.
Two groups took to 238 St. on Sunday, leading to a double-sided protest surrounded by New York Police Department officers where they expressed their contrasting views of the future of the property and its implications on the surrounding community.
The sale of Overlook Manor to Stagg Housing, an affordable housing developer, sparked controversy among locals when public documents indicated that Stagg had applied to turn the building into a migrant housing facility after indicating the property would be used otherwise. The application has not yet been verified.
The rally had originally been organized against the college’s initial decision to sell the building to Stagg Housing. A counter protest gathered on the opposite side of the street outside Goodfellas Pizza in support of the property being used to support migrants.
Posters advertising the rally were first seen across Waldo Ave. and surrounding streets earlier in the week.
“Come join us in a bi-partizan community rally led by Curtis Sliwa regarding the selling of the Manhattan College dorm and the lack of transparency,” the poster read. “We will not be lied to any longer and our voices will be heard!”
Curtis Sliwa, founder of an advocacy group called the Guardian Angels, was arrested just last month during a protest opposing migrant housing on Staten Island, according to an article by The New York Post.
At today’s protest, Sliwa stood with a megaphone on the sidewalk outside of Overlook, surrounded by his supporters and residents of the nearby community in opposition to migrant housing.
“You know what it looks like, communism and socialism,” Sliwa said, kicking off the event. “And you are sure not interested in having that here.”
Members of the group held signs which read “Permanent affordable housing… YES! Migrants… NO!”
Kathy Scott, a local resident who stood with the group opposing migrant housing, shared her concerns with The Quadrangle.
“I’m here because I’m concerned about this building becoming a migrant center… we don’t know who they are, where they came from,” Scott said. “We already have a housing shortage for citizens. So the fact that people can come here illegally and get housing…it just takes away from those people who live here that are looking for housing, employment, contributing to the economy as opposed to us paying for them.”
Scott said many of those in attendance were disappointed with the college for the lack of transparency throughout the process of selling the property.
“I think Manhattan College should have been more transparent with the community,” Scott said. “You know, they [the college] are not always very good neighbors. I’ve lived here a long time. Again, not asking the community, there’s no input from us. It seems to be a done deal, and I’m upset about that. The fact that our leaders are just allowing this to happen, this is clearly unpopular, not only across New York but the country.”
Other attendees who joined the rally in opposition of migrant housing declined to comment on the event.
The group of counter protesters who lined the sidewalk opposite Overlook Manor told The Quadrangle they came to the rally in support of migrant housing. The counter protest was organized by New York Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ).
Naomi Sharlin, a Riverdale resident and member of JFREJ, helped organize the counter protest when she noticed the posters on Waldo Ave.
“There wasn’t any explicit anti-migrant rhetoric on it [the posters] but I knew that there was a plan to use this building as temporary housing for migrants,” Sharlin said. “And so I knew that we had to have a counter protest.”
Sharlin explained that she and the counter-protesters attended the event to stand in solidarity with immigrants and show that they are welcome in Riverdale and in New York City.
“We are here to say that migrants are welcome in our community,” Sharlin said. “As Jews especially, we know what it is to be scapegoated, and that’s what’s happening here. And leadership in our city are failing to meet the moment, to help integrate migrants into our city. We can do it, it’s a challenge, but we’re in New York City, a city of immigrants.”
Bridget McElroy, an educator and MC alum, attended the event in support of migrant housing.
“This is a sanctuary city, migrants need somewhere to go and if the space is available, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be available for migrants and their families,” McElroy said.
When asked about the opposers of migrant housing, McElroy made the following statement.
“I think they’re very misguided,” she said. “I think it’s driven by a lot of racism, a lot of anti- immigrant sentiment. And I really think it’s pretty disgusting to be honest.”
The counter-protesters led by JFREJ lead several chants to show their support, such as “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here!”, “Hey hey! Ho ho! Discrimination has got to go!” and “When immigrants are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”
At one point during the event, both sides yelled “U-S-A! U-S-A!” back and forth at one another.
Several days prior to the rally, the college released a statement on manhattan.edu regarding the implications of the building.
“The College adhered to all applicable laws and policies, regarding the future use of the property,” according to manhattan.edu. “We are aware of reports that the new owners may be engaged with the City of New York regarding the leasing of the property. However, Manhattan College no longer owns the off-campus property, does not control the property nor is a party to any leasing agreement.”
Several Manhattan College students stood outside their off-campus apartments, watching the event unfold from a distance.
One Riverdale resident stated that the issue comes down to city property policies.
“Maybe we need to make a law at the state level that to sell a building, even to another notfor-profit, that there needs to be an overview of that. I’m concerned about the process of the sale, and what needs to be done in the future to remedy this sort of thing happening again.”
