Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) continues to battle against the city’s plan to open a homeless shelter at the corner of Kings Highway and West 13^th Street.

“Putting a homeless shelter at 137 Kings Highway would be detrimental to the neighborhood, and it would not help the people being housed there, who would be better served if the city committed to building permanent affordable housing that they could live in,” contends Assemblyman Colton, who previously led a successful effort to derail another homeless shelter in his district, on Bath Avenue.

According to Assemblyman Colton, the Kings Highway location – which the city aims to open next year -- is a problematic one because of the proximity of multiple schools, senior centers, assisted living facilities, community centers and parks. “If this homeless shelter is sited there, it would negatively impact the quality of life for the community, while not providing the necessary support services and stability for the families that would be housed in it,” Assemblyman Colton says.

Assemblyman Colton also expressed concerns about the agency that would run the shelter, Home Life Services, which currently operates homeless shelters in various neighborhoods around the city. “They have a checkered reputation,” says Assemblyman Colton, pointing out that the agency is currently being sued on two different matters in New York State Supreme Court. In 2019, Assemblyman Colton noted, two people were shot, one fatally, outside the agency’s Star Bright Family Residence in Canarsie, allegedly by a resident who had managed to sneak a gun into the shelter.

The city awards lucrative contracts to agencies such as Home Life Services to run the shelters, but Assemblyman Colton says a better use of city funds would be to create affordable permanent housing that homeless families could move into.

“While the homeless crisis in the city continues to worsen,” said Assemblyman Colton, “the city continues to contract for shelters that are so substandard that homeless people prefer to live on the street. Sadly, the City of New York is spending a lot of money enriching developers and operators who’ve figured out how to game the system, without helping those who need the assistance. It’s way past time for that to change.”