Opening Of Crown Heights Homeless Shelter Delayed After Residents Go To Court

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — The scheduled opening of a new homeless shelter in Crown Heights has been pushed back, a city spokesman told Patch after residents opposed to the facility went to court.

The spokesman did not say that the lawsuit caused the delay, but the decision not to open Wednesday as planned was made as pressure has been growing on the city over the number of shelters in the area and complaints that residents had no say in the decision to open it.

The petition filed in court Tuesday evening looks to block or delay the opening of the shelter at 1173 Bergen Street until it can go through the city's lengthy land-use process, according to reports from BKLYNER and DNA Info.

"The City and CORE are opening this facility as soon as possible to give senior men from Brooklyn the opportunity to be closer to the communities they called home in order to stabilize their lives," Isaac McGinn, a spokesman for the city's Department of Homeless Services, told Patch in a statement Tuesday night.

"We are ensuring the building is ready for occupancy and completing final reviews, and expect to open this facility next week."

The city's Law Department will review the lawsuit.

Patch reported Monday night that the shelter may not open Wednesday as scheduled.

The shelter is one of 90 facilities that will open over the next five years under a plan from Mayor Bill de Blasio. Of the five locations that have been announced so far, two are in the Bronx and three are within a mile radius in Crown Heights and Prospect Heights.

The shelter has drawn significant pushback from community members who say the neighborhood is oversaturated with shelters and who are frustrated with what they say is a lack of communication with area residents.

The petition was filed by Brooklyn attorney Jacqueline McMickens on behalf of several Crown Heights block associations and residents, according to BKLYNER. McMickens could not immediately be reached Tuesday night by Patch at her office.

The petition, BKLYNER reports, says that the shelter "runs directly counter to the Fair Share Criteria in the City Charter. Fair Share is aimed at equitably spreading social service and other programs and amenities around the city. Crown Heights and Bedford­-Stuyvesant carry more than their fair share; each is oversaturated with service beds for the homeless and recovering addicts. Together with Brownsville, these three areas house 45 percent of all shelter beds in Brooklyn."

Before the petition was filed, representatives from the city, mayor's office and CORE would not say for certain that the shelter would open Wednesday, as scheduled.

"We’re still listening to the community’s concerns and the city is still listening to the community’s concerns," Lupe Todd-Medina, a spokeswoman for CORE, told Patch on Monday.

The group could have their case heard as early as Wednesday, DNA Info reports.

Lead image via Marc Torrence