Waldo sanctuary welcomes migrant families: A new chapter for Riverdale

They’re there.

Did you know that?

In September, we spoke in this space about the migrant shelter headed for the greater Riverdale area on West 238th Street near Waldo Avenue inside Overlook Terrace, which used to be off-campus housing for Manhattan University students.

At that time, there was much speculation about how the shelter would work, who would live there, how many would live there, and what might be the issues — or, as some worried, the dangers — of what would happen in the area once the migrants moved in.

Well, according to sources familiar with the situation, they have indeed moved into what is now called Waldo Sanctuary. Multiple families have, in fact. And they’ve been there for weeks.

You may not have noticed due to the distinct lack of incident.

But it’s important you know they’re there because that’s the point The Press, and Northwest Bronx Indivisible among others, made in September.

Unless and until these migrant families, for whom the shelter is designated, give the community a reason to oppose their presence, there is no reason to oppose their presence.

No affirmative reason, anyway.

That doesn’t mean anyone should have gone in with political blinders on, or been labeled by others for having concerns at all. But Westhab — the Yonkers-based organization charged with administering Waldo Sanctuary and providing the migrants sheltered there with everything from cooking and bathing facilities to English teachers — assured a group, which included Northwest Bronx Indivisible, migrants would have 24-hour management, 24-hour security, and a curfew for all but those returning from work.

Westhab has called the incoming Waldo migrants strivers, people who want a better life, and said they would not be permanent residents of the facility, primarily because, as they achieve goals like working papers, employment, school registration for children, and childcare for working parents, migrants want to move closer to the new lives they build.

So far, it appears, so good.

One of the many media personalities concerned with the Waldo shelter before it opened was Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who promised to send a dozen or so of his unarmed volunteers to the area around the former Overlook Terrace to, as he put it, protect the migrants from each other.

Although a few token Angels were spotted around the shelter in late August, before it opened, at press time, there is no indication of any sustained Guardian Angels presence in area around Waldo Sanctuary.

And that’s a good thing. First, because it means the Angels can direct their resources elsewhere and, second, the need for them around the new migrant shelter did not materialize.

There is nothing in the above to suggest all eyes involved should divert from West 238th Street near Waldo Avenue. Westhab should be held to its mandate on all fronts, and the migrant families should use the opportunity they’ve been given to make the most of their new lives in their new country. To do less, for either group, would be a lost opportunity.

And that’s not, that shouldn’t be, what anyone wants.

Some of the families already living in Waldo Sanctuary will move on, and others will take their place. The more migrants Westhab helps navigate these shores, the more important it becomes to make sure all families so situated are afforded the same opportunity.

It’s going to be up to the community, the city and, yes, The Press, to provide the necessary oversight, but also, where and how we can, the necessary support. And if all that means is allowing the process to take its course without undue scrutiny — and certainly without bias — then let it be that, as these folks find their way, with all due course and speed, to joining us as Americans.