Alleging a potentially dangerous series of irregularities, Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) and City Councilmember Susan Zhuang (D—Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Boro Park and Sunset Park) are demanding that city officials reevaluate the demolition permit that was granted on November 14 for 2501 86^th Street, where residents have been battling a proposed homeless shelter for over two years.

According to the two officials, who today sent a letter to the mayor, the buildings commissioner, the Brooklyn district attorney and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the permit was issued despite allowing numerous key requirements to be bypassed, including gas shutoff, water shutoff, electrical disconnection, sewer capping, rodent control, notifications to neighbors and Community Board 11, photos and safety documentation, and pre-demolition inspection, all of which are normally mandatory.

Assemblyman Colton and Councilmember Zhuang also allege that the asbestos inspection, which the city Department of Buildings did require, was fraudulent, and that the inspector who said he had done the inspection, and who has prior criminal convictions for filing fraudulent asbestos reports in New York City, actually never went to the property at the time he said he was there.

In addition, a critical Stormwater Construction Permit from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection is missing without the alternative Determination of Non-Jurisdiction having been filed, as are records that the developer, who allowed permits on the site to lapse, has paid required reinstatement fees and gone through mandatory refiling procedures.

All of this, they contend, threatens the safety and well-being of the surrounding neighborhood, and residents and business-owners have lost trust in the fairness of the city’s actions.

“I am extremely dismayed that the city is allowing this demolition to proceed,” said Assemblyman Colton, “given the numerous failures on the part of the developer to ensure the safety of nearby residents and businesses. This is a huge failure on the part of our Buildings Department, and it must stay or revoke the permit at once, to protect those who live and work nearby, as well as the numerous children and seniors who attend programs in the immediate vicinity of the site.”

Based on all of the red flags that they have identified with respect to the project, the two officials demanded in the letter that the city, “Review the demolition and construction approvals issued for 2501 86^th Street, especially the most recent one approved on 11/14/2025; investigate the fraudulent ACP-5 asbestos filing; direct DOB and DEP to re-evaluate the permits and waivers issued; ensure all city environmental and safety regulations are properly enforced; [and] provide clarity to the community regarding the city’s position on this project.”

Opposition to the shelter plan has been strong and sustained since the city announced in late 2023 that it planned to open a homeless shelter for 150 single men at the location, which is on a busy shopping strip, near homes, religious institutions, day care centers and senior centers. Numerous protests over the course of several months drew thousands of protesters, both at the site and at City Hall, and in the summer of 2024, daily protests at the site commenced.

In addition, more than 53,000 people have signed a petition in opposition to the plan, which the elected officials say would devastate the community without actually benefiting the homeless people it is ostensibly being built to serve, just to enrich greedy developers and shelter operators; a better solution, they insist, is using the billions of taxpayer dollars now funneled into the shelter system to build permanent affordable housing with supportive services.