Thousands of protesters, led by Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) and Councilmember Susan Zhuang (D— Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Boro Park and Sunset Park), gathered at City Hall on the morning of Thursday, May 23, to express their opposition to city plans to open a homeless shelter at 86^th Street and 25^th Avenue. Some of the participants stood at the entrance to the building, while many more were just outside the gates to City Hall Park, marching in an extension of the demonstration.

“We are here to make sure the city administration understands that this shelter is unacceptable to the neighborhood,” contended Assemblyman Colton. “The site is near homes, businesses, schools, senior centers, religious institutions and other key community assets, making it the wrong project in the wrong location. And, we contend that it is not only bad for the community, it is also bad for the people who would be warehoused there. Instead of mindlessly opening homeless shelters, the city should be working on providing affordable permanent housing and appropriate services that would give our homeless neighbors the leg up that they need. The only people who benefit from these homeless shelters are the developers and the operators of the shelters, who are draining millions of taxpayer dollars from city coffers that could instead be used to support a solution that would work for everyone.”

“Today, our community made our voices loud and clear,” said Councilmember Zhuang. “We must work to address homelessness by building more affordable housing, creating jobs and developing programs that help rehabilitate those who are unhoused, not send them to a human warehouse that will use taxpayer dollars to fund illegal substances for individuals suffering from addiction. This is a reckless and dangerous decision by the city. I would like to thank everyone who joined us in calling for an immediate end to the construction of this shelter.”

The City Hall event was just the most recent in a series of protests aimed at derailing plans announced last year to open a homeless shelter for 150 single men, many of whom struggle with addiction or mental health issues, at 2501 86^th Street. One, held in March, drew thousands of protesters to 86^th Street, adjacent to the site of the proposed shelter. In addition, some 52,000 people have signed a petition in opposition to the plan.

The developer of the site, 2501 86^th Street, is Tejpal Sandhu of 86^th Street NY LLC, who was the developer behind the shelter originally planned for 2147 Bath Avenue that was defeated by sustained community opposition led by Assemblyman Colton. 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. There is currently a Stop Work Order on the property; despite that, the developer has been caught trying to do work at the site without the appropriate permits. Previously, he attempted to do work on a portion of city-owned sidewalk right as Lunar New Year began, also the Jewish Sabbath – a Saturday when construction work like this is generally prohibited. On both occasions, he was stopped thanks to the vigilance of the community.

Assemblyman Colton and Councilmember Zhuang have been mobilizing and solidifying opposition to the shelter for months. In February, they launched a task force focused on stopping the homeless shelter from opening at the location.