Lawmakers held a rally Dec. 3 to fight the city’s plan to build a homeless shelter on 25th Avenue and 86th Street.
The NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) said 86th Street NY LLC would develop the shelter and VIP Community Services would run it. It would open in late 2024, house 150 single adult men and have a minimum of seven security staffers and one supervisor per shift. The site would include security cameras.
Lawmakers who spoke at the protest said the proposed shelter won’t help homeless people.
“This has become a business at the expense of all of you who work hard, pay taxes, do everything right, and all we are getting in return is shelter after shelter,” said U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. “It is also a result of policies that we are seeing in City Hall that have stopped investing in people.”
Malliotakis said the city needs to help people become self-sufficient so they can live independently.
“The city is spending billions of dollars to support these homeless shelters,” said Assemblyman William Colton, who hosted the rally. “It is money that could be spent on making permanent housing, not shelters. Not places where people just stay the night or places where people are still homeless.”
DSS said it wants to ensure that every community has adequate resources to support New Yorkers in need and pointed out that there are no other shelters in Community Board 11.
“This site will offer dedicated support and services to residents, providing them the opportunity to stabilize their lives and ultimately transition to permanent housing,” a DSS spokesperson told this paper. “We will work closely with our experienced not-for-profit provider, VIP Community Services, and the surrounding community to ensure that this is a positive experience for all involved.”
DSS said VIP would work with local officials and the community to help find jobs for those in need.
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