A 94-year-old Army veteran is voicing his opinion after he and several other veterans were recently kicked out of their New York nursing home to make room for families seeking asylum.
Frank Tammaro says he and several dozen of his fellow residents who once lived at Island Shores Residences on Staten Island, were forced to move after they learned the building was being sold.
Residents were told it would reopen, but Tammaro says when he asked questions, he was kept in the dark.
“They told us they were restructuring. They never said we were getting migrants,” the 94-year-old said.
The building’s owner, a non-profit aimed at helping the homeless. intended on selling it to someone who “would be another senior operator.” But the non-profit, Homes for the Homeless ended up making a deal with the city for asylum seekers to move into the facility.
“I don’t understand it at all,” Barbara Annunziata, Tammaro’s daughter, said.
‘It’s not fair to anybody.’
Tammaro called the situation “scary,” referring to the eviction notices and not knowing where he would live.
He eventually went to live at another facility, but after suffering a fall, his daughter thought it would be best if he lived with her.
Tammaro admitted he felt “bitter” in the beginning, but he’s currently “satisfied” with his living situation.
“I was satisfied where I was until they threw me out,” he told Fox News. “But making the best of a bad situation, that’s what we’re doing.”
His daughter remains upset about how the situation was handled.
“I don’t understand it at all. It’s not fair to anybody,” she said. “These migrants, they’re getting everything. They’re getting everything and I can’t get nothing for [Tammaro]. It angers me.”
“I can’t even get him an aide. I only could get him an aide for 30 days and then they cancel it,” Annunziata said. “So what, he has to pay for it then?”
In September, 15 families seeking asylum moved into the Island Shores Residences.
There has to be a better solution than kicking people out of their homes. We can’t kick one group of people out in order to help another.
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