New Homeless Shelter Has Uptown Community Board Concerned

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A new 175-bed homeless shelter being built in Washington Heights has member s of an Upper Manhattan community board worried.

At several times during the Community Board 12 housing and human services committee meeting Thursday night, Committee Chair Ayisha Ogilvy and CB 12 Chair Richard Lewis cast doubt that a new shelter on Audubon Avenue and West 180th Street would alleviate Washington Heights' struggle with homelessness.

"I am not completely in agreement with what they call 'NIMBY,' which is 'not in my backyard,'" Ogilvy said Thursday night. "However I am also of the opinion that they do have to give weight to what is going to work best in our community."

Ogilvy added that she is concerned that the city Department of Homeless Services was not aware that CB 12 receives many concerns from area residents regarding the neighborhood's homeless population. The housing committee chair voiced support for finding more permanent affordable housing for people struggling with homelessness as opposed to opening new shelters.

CB 12 chair Lewis echoed the concern by telling DHS representatives at the meeting: "Sometimes [concerns] are anecdotal, but it's a heavy experience and you should know that in this community it is troubling to a lot of residents and it is constantly raised in all of our committees."

Lewis also requested that the city turn over all documents related to an environmental review of the shelter site to the board as soon as possible. The site's former use as a parking garage has the board concerned that construction — which has already started — may negatively affect the health of people living near the site.

Community Board 12 is planning to discuss the new shelter in two more committee meetings and has scheduled a public hearing on the issue for April 11, Lewis said. The housing and human services committee did not issue a resolution in support or opposition to the new shelter.

The Audubon Avenue site was chosen for a homeless shelter when nonprofit HELP USA responded to an open request for new shelters as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's "Turning the Tide" program to combat homelessness, DHS Assistant Commissioner of Government Affairs Matt Borden said Thursday. The city agency notified the Community Board and neighborhood elected officials after the site was approved on Feb. 22, Borden said.

Work has already started to convert the building, located at 286 Audubon Avenue between West 179th and 180th streets, for a projected late summer or fall 2019 opening. The new shelter will help the city meet the need for shelter beds in Upper Manhattan, city officials said.

The new shelter will be run by the nonprofit HELP USA, which will offer residents services such as case management, counseling, housing placement and life skills workshops. HELP USA will also conduct 24-hour security at the location, with a minimum of 10 security guards per shift and three guards posted at the shelter's entrance, city officials said. Seventy-three security cameras will be installed on the shelter grounds, officials said. Residents will have a 10 p.m. curfew, but can get an exemption for work.

Representatives from HELP USA said the shelter may open as soon as July during Thursday night's meeting.

There are currently 425 households, made up of 862 people, from the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods in the shelter system but only 409 beds in the area. Of those beds, 120 are located in a commercial hotel that will be phased out through Mayor Bill de Blasio's "Turning the Tide" homelessness initiative, city officials said.

There are three DHS facilities currently operating in Washington Heights and Inwood in addition to the one commercial hotel, according to a department map of where shelters are located throughout the city as of Dec. 31, 2018.

A location for the April 11 CB 12 public hearing to discuss the new shelter was not announced Thursday.