Group Sues City To Stop Homeless Shelter In Douglaston: Report

DOUGLASTON, QUEENS — A community group in Douglaston sued the city this month in its latest attempt to stop a homeless shelter from opening in the neighborhood, according to a report.

The Douglaston Civic Association (DCA), filed a temporary restraining order against the city, the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), and developers on Oct. 14, the Queens Chronicle reported. The order means that the groups can't work on the shelter, which is set to open at 243-02 Northern Boulevard by the end of this year, pending litigation.

Women over 50-years-old are slated to live in the 75-bed shelter in dorms of eight to 12; living arrangements that the DCA called "inhumane" in the latest iteration of its anti-shelter campaign, which has been ongoing since it was first announced last December.

"To take 75 human beings and shove them in barracks-like conditions and then tell them they have to leave during the day when there's nothing [nearby] to do and you put them at the end of the city in terms of transportation; it's inhumane," DCA president Sean Walsh told Patch, adding that the DCA would support a plan to build an apartment with 15 permanent residents for unhoused people.

At the time the DCA was circulating a flier in the neighborhood calling on locals to oppose the shelter and donate money to the DCA so that the group could sue the city, Patch reported.

But at least one expert found that the group's stated concerns over conditions at the shelter were disingenuous.

"People who oppose shelters in their neighborhoods run through the same script every time and it usually starts with a bogus expression of concern for the welfare of shelter residents," Joshua Goldfein, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, told Patch.

The DCA also told the Chronicle that building a shelter for housing at what was formerly a mental health clinic with offices, known as the Pride of Judea, doesn't conform to city zoning laws.

As they have said in the past, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services told Patch that the DCA's claims agains the shelter are inaccurate; all city shelters must meet New York State capacity requirements, and provide adequate facilities for all residents.

The spokesperson added that it is important to have these resources available for residents in all five boroughs; notably, this would be the first DHS site in Community District 11.

Despite the lawsuit, the city still plans to open the shelter in Douglaston as soon as possible, but it isn't clear if litigation will delay its projected timeline, the Chronicle reported.

Related Article: Locals Reject 'Inhumane' Homeless Shelter, Experts Call NIMBYism