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Local officials attack New York City plan to house migrants in Staten Island church: 'Hurting this community'

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Local officials attack New York City plan to house migrants in Staten Island church: 'Hurting this community'

Staten Island officials had harsh words for New York City’s latest plan to open a migrant shelter in a local church.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, alongside Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks and Councilman David Carr, held a last-minute press conference on Monday attacking a proposal to place 15 cots in the Faith United Methodist Church for single adult men. 

“Out of the blue, in the dark of the night, we were just told last week that ‘guess what, despite all your best efforts, we’re going to open up a migrant shelter…which is wrong. We come here united,” Fossella, a Republican, said, according to the New York Post.

The bipartisan group of community leaders agreed that opening a migrant shelter would be “hurting this community and the people.”

FURIOUS STATEN ISLAND RESIDENT VOWS COMMUNITY WILL STOP MIGRANT SHELTER IN ITS TRACKS: ‘THIS IS GROUND ZERO’

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Staten Island Borough president Vito Fossella said that the city only gave him a few days’ notice before insisting that a local church would open a migrant shelter. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

“Some people in this community wake up every day trying to figure out, ‘How do we make Portland Richmond better? How do we make the North Shore better?’” Fossella said.

He added, “And then along comes the agencies, [which] say, ‘Guess what? Here’s a way we can make it better: We’re gonna’ dump a migrant shelter right in the middle of your neighborhood.’”

“How is that any degree of common sense? It’s not,” he said. “We have to stand and fight back.”

Hanks, a Democratic councilwoman, agreed with Fossella and criticized the city for giving them such short notice, the New York Post reported.

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“The residents of this district are tired — they’re tired of constantly waking up one day to find that an institution they trusted has made the decision that they feel will have a negative impact on their community and their safety,” Hanks continued.

She added, “We deserve a reasonable expectation that communities will be provided with adequate notice and will not intentionally keep us in the dark while decisions are made.”

Staten Island residents and local leaders have attacked New York City’s attempts to shelter migrants in their neighborhoods. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

Carr, a Republican, noted that it was unlikely the church could even be equipped to be converted into a shelter, insisting that Staten Island is not under any obligation to provide shelter for migrants.

“We should be talking about closing shelters, winding them down, not opening up new ones like the one that they intend to put behind us,” he said, indicating the church behind them.

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“I’m not just against migrant shelters in my backyard,” Carr continued. “I’m against migrant shelters in everyone’s backyard.”

NYC RESIDENTS PROTEST ON STATEN ISLAND AS MIGRANT CRISIS WORSENS, CLAIM THEY ARE ‘NOT BEING VETTED’: REPORT

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Fossella said that Staten Island has frequently pushed back against some of New York City’s efforts to open more migrant shelters in their borough. For example, in September, a Staten Island judge ruled that a school being used to house migrants had to be vacated.

“From day one, we’ve been pretty clear that we feel that this policy is unsustainable. And clearly, it’s been unsustainable,” he said.

Fossella attacked New York City’s “right to shelter” mindset when it comes to welcoming migrants.

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He further attacked the way New York City has been handling the migrant crisis over the past few years.

“Every day, people from all over the world come, and they roll the dice and once they cross the border, they are sent to wherever they want to go. And the unfortunate situation in New York City is the belief that’s wrong, that there’s this so-called ‘right to shelter’ that the city has an obligation to accommodate them, to put them up in hotels, to feed them, to give them mopeds, to give them iPhones. It’s wrong. It’s just not true,” Fossella said.

As of Monday night, Fossella stated that he had not yet heard back from the city.

Fox News Digital reached out to the New York City mayor’s office for a comment.

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New Hampshire

Court hearing for Cher’s son on charges he broke into a New Hampshire home canceled

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Court hearing for Cher’s son on charges he broke into a New Hampshire home canceled


Crime

Elijah Allman’s arrest on March 1 was his second in New Hampshire in a matter of days.

FILE – This Feb. 26, 2016 file photo, shows the entrance to St. Paul’s School in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File) AP

A court hearing for Cher’s son Wednesday over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home this month has been canceled.

Elijah Allman’s arrest on March 1 was his second in New Hampshire in a matter of days. Allman, the 49-year-old son of the iconic singer and actress, was also detained Feb. 27, accused of acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in Concord.

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Cher
This undated photo provided by the Windham N.H. Police Department on Monday, March 2, 2026, shows Elijah Allman. – Windham N.H. Police Department via AP

It is unclear if Allman, of Malibu, California, has any connection to the home in Windham, New Hampshire. He is being held in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said.

The hearing Wednesday was continued until an undetermined date after Allman got an attorney Wednesday morning. The attorney, Sarah Landres, did not respond to a request for comment.

Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, is charged with two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it.

Officials at St. Paul’s School said Allman last month identified himself as the parent of a prospective student and slipped into the dining hall as some students were leaving the building. Police responded to reports that he was disturbing people in the building.

He was charged with four misdemeanors in the school incident: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime. He was released on bail.

Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working.

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In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman’s struggles with his mental health and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.

The petition says the superstar performer’s son is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he was in a good place, was attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his estranged wife.

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New Jersey

Scrap metal barge fire is under control, vessel moving to Camden

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Scrap metal barge fire is under control, vessel moving to Camden


Scrap metal burned for more than 24 hours

Firefighting efforts lasted more than 24 hours until Wednesday morning when thermal imagery showed the fire extinguished, according to the Coast Guard’s Petty Officer First Class Matthew West.

The Delaware Emergency Management Agency assisted the Coast Guard in its response.

“Multiple fire companies worked diligently to extinguish the fire, while state agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard coordinated resources to support response operations and minimize impacts to federal waterways, coastal communities, and the surrounding environment,” according to a statement by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.

It remains unclear what exactly was burning or what was released into the atmosphere from the scrap metal, but it was likely “a very toxic mix,” according to Jane Clougherty, professor of environmental and occupational health at Drexel University.

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“Remember that because this is scrap metal, it’s from an earlier era, potentially, when a lot of lead was used, both in metals and in the paints on those metals,” Clougherty said.



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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro’s neighbor accuses him of stealing land in ‘outrageous abuse of power’

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Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro’s neighbor accuses him of stealing land in ‘outrageous abuse of power’


Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s neighbors are suing the Democrat, accusing him of stealing a slice of their land to erect an eight-foot-high security fence around his private residence in an “outrageous abuse of power.”

The neighbors, Jeremy and Simone Mock, are currently duking it out with the governor in court over a 2,900 square foot parcel of land located between their two homes in Abington, Montgomery County, court papers show.

The Mocks alleged in a lawsuit filed last month that Shapiro and his wife, Lori, unlawfully seized the stretch of land after initial negotiations to buy it from them went up in flames.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s neighbors have accused the Democrat of stealing a slice of their land to erect an eight-foot-high security fence around his private residence. Josh Shapiro / Facebook

Shapiro claimed in a countersuit that he owns the disputed land due, citing an “adverse possession” loophole that makes it his because he has maintained the sliver of property for decades.

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The land-grab tit-for-tat kicked off last year when the Shapiros first sought to erect the huge fence and upgrade security following an arson attack on the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg while they were all sleeping inside on April 13.

Shapiro initially offered to pay the Mocks for the 2,900-square-foot section of land, which he for decades had believed was his, to be able to build the fence, the suit said.

The negotiations, however, fell through when the neighbors couldn’t agree on a price.

The Mocks allege that’s when Shapiro and his wife unlawfully claimed ownership of the property — even planting trees and having State Troopers stationed there.

“What followed was an outrageous abuse of power by the sitting Governor of Pennsylvania,” the Mocks’ lawsuit argues.

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The neighbors claim Shapiro had State Troopers stationed on the property after unlawfully claiming ownership, the lawsuit states. Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Shapiro initially offered to pay the Mocks for the 2,900 square foot section of land, which he had believed for decades was actually part of his own property, but the negotiations fell through, according to the suit. Eastern District of Pennsylvania

“To begin, the Shapiros suddenly claimed, without evidence, they owned the Mock Property through ‘adverse possession’ despite their previous acknowledgments that the Mock Property was owned by no one other than the Mocks and despite having never been awarded the Mock Property through adverse possession by a court,” the court filing states.

The law allows for an occupant to legally acquire the title of someone else’s property if they’ve occupied the area for over 21 years.

The Shapiros purchased their home in 2003 and long believed the disputed 2,900 square foot section of land was part of their property, meaning they had maintained it for more than the required 21 years, their countersuit claims.

As the issue continues to play out in court, Shapiro’s office suggested the entire saga was a political stunt.

“The Governor looks forward to a swift resolution and will not be bullied by anyone trying to score cheap political points, especially at the expense of his family’s safety and wellbeing,” his office told NBC when the dueling suits were filed.

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