Crown Heights Homeless Shelter May Not Open Wednesday After Community Backlash

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A controversial homeless shelter planned for Crown Heights may not open this Wednesday as originally scheduled, a spokeswoman said Monday.

The shelter at 1173 Bergen St., which would house more than 100 single men over the age of 61, is one of 90 facilities that Mayor Bill de Blasio is trying to open over the next five years as part of his initiative to curb homelessness in the city. It's also the first of three shelters the city plans to open within a one-mile radius in Brooklyn's Crown Heights and Prospect Heights neighborhoods.

The Bergen Street shelter was scheduled to open Wednesday, March 22, but after two extremely divisive public meetings — where Crown Heights residents railed on what they said was a lack of appropriate communication from the city and an overabundance of homeless shelters in the neighborhood, while others were supportive of the opportunity to care for homeless seniors — the shelter's future may be in jeopardy.

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Reached Monday by phone, Lupe Todd-Medina, a spokeswoman for CORE Services Group, which will operate the shelter, told Patch she could only confirm that Wednesday was the scheduled date for the shelter to open — and not that it would actually open on that date.

"We’re still listening to the community’s concerns, and the city is still listening to the community’s concerns," Todd-Medina told Patch.

Isaac McGinn, a spokesman for the Department of Homeless Services, also could not confirm that the shelter would open on Wednesday. He would only say by phone Tuesday morning that, "We are on track to open this week."

The mayor's office did not return a request from Patch asking if the shelter was still scheduled to open as planned.

Todd-Medina said CORE does not want to rush an opening of the shelter, which will provide transitional services. She said the decision to open the shelter is a shared one between the city and CORE.

"There are still things going on, there’s still stuff that needs to be addressed. Obviously the community’s input has mattered and is valued," Todd-Medina said. "CORE is not going to rush an opening just to meet a deadline. We want to make sure everything is up to par, and everybody’s in a good faith before opening.

"Right now, it is still, according to the city’s records, it is slated to open on Wednesday, but if that doesn’t happen, it is not for lack of an attempt to get it open, but still addressing concerns, still addressing issues, and CORE won’t rush it."

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