Upper West Side Homeless Shelter To Be Relocated, City Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An Upper West Side homeless shelter that has drawn the ire of its neighbors for years will be shut down and a new shelter will be opened a few blocks away in its place, city officials said.

Freedom House, located on West 95th Street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive, will be closed before the end of the year, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services said. A department spokesperson said the "phasing out less effective traditional shelter facilities like Freedom House," is part of the city's borough-based approach to the city's homelessness crisis.

The city will partner with a new operator to open up a shelter on West 94th Street between West End and Riverside Drive that can accommodate 110 families, a Department of Homeless Services said. The city has partnered with the operator, Praxis, on shelters in other parts of the city.

"This new high-quality facility will offer 110 adult families experiencing homelessness the opportunity to be sheltered in their home borough, closer to their support networks and communities they called home as they stabilize their lives," a spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services said in a statement. "Working together with neighbors and nonprofit service provider Praxis, we’re confident that these families will be warmly welcomed—and through collaborative support and compassion, we will make this the best experience it can be for these families as they get back on their feet."

Local City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal said in a statement that she is "cautiously optimistic" about the new facility. Rosenthal cited the city's previous partnerships with Praxis and the "more appropriate physical space" as reasons for that optimism.

"Like so many residents, I have been extremely concerned about public safety issues at Freedom House for years," Rosenthal said in a statement. "I am cautiously optimistic that this new facility on W. 94th -- with a new provider, who has performed well in other parts of the city, and a more appropriate physical space -- will be far better able to serve its residents."

The city first notified the community of the new West 94th Street shelter during a community meeting on Oct. 4, a city Department of Homeless Services spokesperson said. The shelter is expected to open sometime in Fall 2018.

Photo by Google Maps street house