UWS Safe Haven Opens At 83rd Street: 5 Months After Its Announcement

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Residents began moving in Thursday to the long-awaited safe haven on West 83rd Street, Upper West Side Council Member Gale Brewer and the facility's provider Breaking Ground confirmed to Patch.

A small group of people are expected to move in this week to the facility at 106-108 W. 83rd St., between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, for those experiencing street and subway homelessness.

"Breaking Ground is pleased to welcome individuals to the West 83rd Street Safe Haven this week," a Breaking Ground spokesperson told Patch, which is the provider for the facility. "Tackling our homelessness crisis is a collaborative effort, and we look forward to serving the Upper West Side community and remaining good partners for the long term.”

The new Upper West Side safe haven will serve all genders, with residents getting directly referred by outreach teams who will walk and monitor the surrounding Upper West Side-area to build a rapport with people living on the street.

Safe havens don't have the same requirements as homeless shelters for residents to leave during the day, and come with more robust available programming.

There will also be a Community Advisory Board for the facility that includes local shelter providers, elected officials, community board members, members of the community, and other key stakeholders.

The board will look to address community concerns surrounding the shelter and host quarterly meetings topics are presented and subsequent steps are planned.

The Upper West Side safe haven was announced on March 1, and originally expected to open in the next couple of months. Those plans ended up delayed, though, and the opening got pushed back five months.