A judge on Tuesday ruled that migrant asylum seekers will need to be removed from St. John Villa Academy, a former Roman Catholic school on Staten Island.

The decision follows a lawsuit filed by Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, City Councilman Joe Borelli and other concerned parties about the Arrochar property’s use.

The ruling grants a preliminary injunction prohibiting the use of the former school, which is located on Cleveland Place, as a shelter for migrant asylum seekers. 

This is the second time Judge Wayne Ozzi has issued a ruling demanding the city remove asylum seekers from the property. His previous ruling was overturned in August, just hours after it was issued.

Fossella, in a statement Tuesday, praised Ozzi for hearing “our concerns with having migrant shelters placed within residential areas.”

"This decision is a victory for the residents of Arrochar and, frankly, all Staten Islanders," he said. "We believe the city acted improperly in placing a migrant shelter within the heart of Arrochar, a low-density residential community and across the street from a Pre-K-12 school."

The action follows weeks of controversy surrounding the former St. John Villa Academy, as well as a former senior facility located in Midland Beach.

Last week, protesters held a demonstration outside the former senior facility on Father Capodanno Blvd. to protest the housing of migrants. The protest resulted in 10 arrests and a tense standoff between demonstrators and law enforcement.

That migrant shelter remains in operation. The city previously said it could house as many as 113 families and continues to connect them with city resources and services.

City Hall previously stated that of the 59,000 asylum seekers under its care, less than 2% are being housed on Staten Island.

St. John Villa Academy was purchased by New York City in 2018 after it was shuttered.

In a statement provided to NY1, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said the city would be "taking steps to immediately appeal this ruling, which we believe is incorrect in key respects and which threatens to disrupt efforts to manage this national humanitarian crisis."

"Since spring 2022, we have processed over 116,000 asylum seekers, with an average of more than 10,000 migrants continuing to arrive every single month asking for shelter. With 210 sites already open, including 17 large-scale humanitarian relief centers, any site we are now finding are the only options left," the spokesperson said. "While not a single family with children has been forced to sleep on the streets in New York City, this ruling jeopardizes our ability to continue providing shelter at that scale."

"Instances like this underscore the urgent need for a broader state and national solution, as we've emphasized repeatedly," the spokesperson added.

NY1 has also reached out to the city's Law Department for comment.

In his own statement, Josh Goldfein, staff attorney with the Homeless Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society, denounced the ruling.

“This decision is not rooted in law and ignores existing emergency and executive orders, court decrees, and New York’s constitutional requirement to provide shelter to all who seek it," Goldfein said.