With the city doubling down on its intention to build a homeless shelter at 86^th Street and 25^th Avenue, 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) have organized an emergency protest to be held at the site of the proposed project on Saturday, March 28, at 11 a.m.

The rally was organized in response to notification phone calls made to the officials’ offices last month by the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), with word that the project, which had been stalled, was being accelerated, despite the many concerns raised by community members and their representatives over the three-plus years that opposition to the proposal has been building. Both Assemblyman Colton and Councilmember Zhuang have repeatedly contended that the city’s homeless population would be better served by the construction of affordable housing with supportive services available as necessary, and that the costly project, part of $8 billion spent annually on homeless services, is basically a giveaway to developers and the organizations that run the shelters.

“I am appalled that the city continues to ignore the message being sent by area residents, that this shelter is the wrong project in the wrong place,” said Assemblyman Colton. “We have repeatedly raised legitimate concerns, and have been blown off, both by the prior administration and now by this new one. The reality is that this shelter would serve neither our homeless neighbors -- many of whom avoid going into shelters in the first place because they fear for their safety -- nor the community in which it would be located. Let’s try a different approach, and instead of enriching greedy developers, use the money to create affordable housing that could permanently end the issue of homelessness for many of the people who experience it by giving them the fresh start they need. We are calling for a long-lasting solution to the issue, not another expensive band-aid.”

specifically,r concern to the community and its representatives are the many shortcuts that have been taken by the developer and the city Department of Buildings (DOB) to arrive at this point, specifically the bypassing of key requirements, 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. In addition, concerns have been raised 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 all when he said he was there. Also, a critical Stormwater Construction Permit from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection was missing without the alternative Determination of Non-Jurisdiction having been filed when a demolition permit was issued in December, 2025.

These shortcuts, the elected officials say, threaten the safety and well-being of the surrounding neighborhood and the residents of the shelter, and they emphasize that local residents and business-owners have lost trust in the fairness of the city’s actions.

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 2501 86^th Street, 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 commenced at the site. In addition, more than 53,000 people have signed a petition in opposition to the plan.