Approximately 200 people gathered together on Sunday afternoon at the urging of Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights), who with Councilmember Susan Zhuang is launching a task force to prevent the construction of a homeless shelter at 86^th Street and 25^th Avenue.

A demolition permit has been issued for the site, 2501 86^th Street, Assemblyman Colton told the crowd assembled at Health Essentials, 2336 86^th Street, but that, he stressed, does not mean that a homeless shelter will be built there.

“We will fight this homeless shelter as we successfully fought ones on Bath Avenue and Kings Highway, and working together, we will win,” Assemblyman Colton said. A total of 14,000 petition signatures opposing the shelter has already been gathered – about 7,000 online and 7,000 on paper.

“Just because the existing building is demolished, it doesn’t mean that the shelter will be built there,” he said.

Going forward, more petition signatures are needed, said Assemblyman Colton who asked the residents and businesspeople who attended the meeting to join in the effort to get signatures. In addition, he asked them to keep an eye on the site, snap photos of any activity, and notify his office or Councilmember Zhuang’s office about anything happening there. This includes the construction of a fence (which is required prior to demolition), the arrival of construction vehicles or any construction activity on the site, as well as any signs that proper care isn’t being taken.

“We need your vigilance. We need to know what’s happening in real time because we want to make sure he complies with every law,” Assemblyman Colton stressed. “We want him to know we are going to be watching him at every step.”

Assemblyman Colton also urged his listeners to write or call city officials to express their opposition to the shelter, and to attend any relevant meetings or gatherings. A protest held in early December, on a rainy Sunday, drew some 500 people opposing the project.

The developer for the shelter is Tejpal Sandhu of 86^th Street NY LLC, who was the developer behind the shelter originally planned for 2147 Bath Avenue. According to Assemblyman Colton, the Sandhu Group makes a practice of building so-called hotels in unexpected locations then leasing them to the city at a cost of thousands of dollars per resident per month, all coming from taxpayer dollars.

In this case, Sandhu has filed papers with the city’s Department of Buildings to construct a 32-room hotel with a community facility attached; the city notified the prior councilmember for the area that it plans to use the site as a shelter for 150 single men, many of whom struggle with addiction or mental health issues. “So, already there is a discrepancy,” Assemblyman Colton pointed out.

“The government is failing us,” added Councilmember Zhuang. “They are supposed to help the homeless, and you don’t do that by building human warehouses. Shelters don’t serve the needs of the homeless, only the needs of developers.”

“This does not benefit the neighborhood and it does not benefit the homeless people,” Assemblyman Colton stressed. Assemblyman Colton has repeatedly said that, instead of warehousing homeless people in homeless shelters, the city should focus on providing permanent housing and support services as necessary.

“It’s a terrible location for a shelter,” Assemblyman Colton contended, “in a main business district surrounded by residential areas, and near churches, mosques and schools. By opposing this shelter, we are helping homeless people.”