Old Upper East Side Shelter Building To Be Torn Down, Plans Show

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A Yorkville building long home to a homeless shelter is set to be demolished by its nonprofit owner, according to newly filed plans.

Demolition plans for the five-story building at 222 East 86th St., between Second and Third avenues, were filed Thursday by the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, which provides housing for people with mental illness.

The nonprofit has owned the brick building since the 1990s, and used it since 1994 as a residence for people referred by the city's Department of Homeless Services. With 36 total units, it included on-site case management and clinical services, according to the organization's website.

But Google Maps lists the 86th Street residence as "permanently closed," and it no longer appears on the Postgraduate Center's list of Manhattan residences.

An executive at the Postgraduate Center is listed as the building owner on the demolition plan, but did not respond to emailed questions about the organization's plans for the site.

The building was constructed in 1926, according to the Postgraduate Center. Its ground floor was formerly home to shops including Crepes & Delices and Tasti D-Lite, though it is now vacant.

In July, City Limits reported that tenants were enduring poor living conditions in supportive housing units rented by the Postgraduate Center. The nonprofit argued that paltry government contracts forced it to lease the decrepit apartments — though the group has $130 million in cash reserves and pays its CEO nearly $1 million, the publication reported.

The Postgraduate Center runs six community residences in addition to its "scattered site" supportive housing apartments, and owns a total of 16 apartment buildings around the city, according to its website.