NYC Migrant Shelter Neighbor Says He’s ‘A Prisoner in My Own Neighborhood’

A Staten Island man who lives next door to a controversial school-turned-migrant shelter says cops seem more focused on keeping tabs on residents than the site as police beefed up security in the area Tuesday.

Scott Herkert, 53, told The Post he was baffled as he watched city workers install surveillance cameras outside his house Tuesday — rather than the shelter at the former St. John Villa Academy in Arrochar that has already sent hundreds of ticked-off locals to the street in protest.

“I’m in a fishbowl,” he said.

“I don’t recognize my country anymore. They’re doing things in secret, and now I’m the one under a microscope for standing up for what I worked hard for.”

“I’m a prisoner in my own neighborhood now,” Herkert added.

“This is not just me. This is a neighborhood fighting for its survival. They’re dropping a bomb on this neighborhood.”

As many as 400 enraged protesters rallied outside the converted school on Monday in the latest show of opposition to Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to open the newest migrant shelter there without warning.

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After Monday’s raucous rally, cops parked police cruisers in the road to block off traffic to Landis Avenue and Hastings Street on Tuesday and installed surveillance cameras on utility poles near Herkert’s home.

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