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) will be spearheading a community protest against the homeless shelter proposed for 86^th Street and 25^th Avenue at the site on Saturday, March 28, beginning at 11 a.m.

The emergency rally was organized after the officials received notice last month from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), 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.

“We are hoping for a huge crowd, as we have gotten in the past,” said Assemblyman Colton. “We are asking everyone who has concerns about this shelter and the city’s policy to join us and all the people who protest outside the shelter site on a daily basis, to make their voices heard. I have said from the beginning that we would fight this project, which benefits neither the shelter inhabitants nor the surrounding neighborhood, and I will continue the fight for as long as necessary.”

Of particular concern are the many shortcuts that have been taken by the developer and the city Department of Buildings (DOB) to arrive at this point, bypassing 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.

“One of our main worries,” said Assemblyman Colton, “is that the completed building will not be safe and 10 or 20 years from now, there will be a terrible accident because of the shortcuts taken at the beginning.”

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