Judge’s Order Halts First Ave. Homeless Shelter Opening

A judge has put a temporary restraining order on the opening of a new homeless shelter at 1114 First Ave., in order to consider the merits of a lawsuit filed by the condo board of a nearby luxury condo tower on E. 60th St.

The 200-bed shelter, which would be operated by Housing Solutions of New York, will house women. It was originally slated to house men, until City Council Speaker Julie Menin—who represents the area—requested otherwise. It was originally slated to open next month, although that timeline may now have been complicated.

The shelter has been the source of local drama since it was announced. It attracted a previous petition seeking to halt its opening, which accrued a few thousand signatures. A heated Community Board 8 meeting on the subject was also held last month.

On March 12, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Sabrina Kraus ruled that the opening should be halted while the court reviews the matter; both the shelter and the opposing plaintiffs, i.e. the condo board of Bridge Tower Place at 401 East 60th St., must file their arguments by March 25.

Lawyers for the condo board are arguing that the proposed general population shelter could have “adverse noise impacts,” alleging that the city issued a faulty environmental approval of the site, which currently houses a Goodwill second hand shop. “The environmental review was [rendered] a post hoc rationalization rather than a genuine inquiry into environmental consequences,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit takes the form of an Article 78 proceeding, which is used to challenge decisions by government agencies. Department of Homeless Services Commissioner (DHS) Molly Wasow Park is a defendant.

The city is locating the shelter in the area after consulting a City Charter clause that mandates an “equitable” spread of such services citywide, so as not to confine shelters to certain neighborhoods only. The Upper East Side district in question currently has no shelters.

Other local residents opposed to the shelter appear to be planning further legal challenges to its opening, Patch first reported; a new group calling itself the “East Side Accountability Alliance Legal Fund” has raised $13,000 for that purpose.

The group’s fundraising website describes the organization as “a neighborhood-based not-for-profit corporation formed to promote transparency, lawful process, and public accountability when large institutional facilities are introduced into high-density residential areas.”

The shelter originally drew a challenge from a petitioner, Mark Yosef, who owns a comedy club a few doors down. It has garnered roughly 5,500 signatures.

Some of this local opposition burst into the open at a Community Board 8 meeting held on Feb. 9, where CB8 Chair Valerie Mason became a target of ire. “We’re not being asked to do anything that any other community is not being asked to do,” she said, relaying the city’s rationale behind opening the shelter.

At one point, an attendee angrily shouted something at Mason and stormed off. Another woman who testified speculated that the shelter’s residents could theoretically steal tools from a Home Depot next door, claiming that the women living there would “endanger” children.

Not all local residents are opposed to the shelter, as evidenced by the same meeting. Alexis Keller said that her neighbors were engaging in “bad behavior,” expressing surprise that her support for expanding the homeless services provided by the shelter would be a “controversial” position.

CB8 Chair Mason also said that different neighborhood groups have told her of their support for the shelter’s opening.