The homeless crisis is one of our city’s biggest challenges, with no easy answers. Those seeking shelter deserve it, and yet the struggles of this vulnerable population — mental illness, drug addiction, criminal histories — prompt neighborhoods to fight shelters on their streets.
But not all facilities serving the homeless are the same.
At the moment, the fight by East Village residents to stop the city from placing an intake center for homeless men on E. 3rd St. is getting attention. The residents sued the city, and a judge issued a temporary restraining order stopping the move. For now.
But the media is glossing over a key fact that sets this battle apart, if it is mentioned at all. But it is crucial.
This is not a shelter — it is an intake center for all homeless men from around the city. And that is a very, very different thing.
I am a volunteer social worker soon to be getting my master’s degree. I also live around the corner from the site.
Until recently, it was a shelter, run by Project Renewal, and we had no problem with that. Residents directed from the intake center at Bellevue — which is being closed by the Mamdani administration — would spend perhaps months or more than a year here before moving on.
Those men became part of the neighborhood. In their own way, they were vested in our community. This was their home. They were respectful of the street. They talked to our dogs. Yes, some got unruly, but others took care of them. They needed to — there were no police officers assigned to the site.
But an intake center for what is generally considered the most problematic segment of the homeless population? That worries me. This is a major change in use.
This is where hundreds of homeless men from all five boroughs show up in search of a place to sleep. They’ll arrive on our very narrow block with all their possessions — in shopping carts, in garbage bags, in suitcases. Many come straight from incarceration, others struggle with mental illness and addiction.
They will be evaluated. Some will get medical treatment. Late arrivals will get a cot for one night.
These are utterly transient people, with no loyalty to the neighborhood. And the city is aware of the difference — it has said 15 police officers will be assigned to our block once the intake center opens. Previously we had no cops, and it was fine. What are they worried about?
The Bellevue center was adjacent to Bellevue Hospital, and many of the men arrived required medical care. We have no such facility nearby to attend to all the sick men who will arrive in droves. The modest medical office planned for 8 E. 3rd St. will not be enough.
We understand that the intake center at Bellevue needs renovations. But ours is a tiny block in a neighborhood that already has numerous facilities for the homeless, including the new adult family intake center around the block.
I wish the administration would seek public input, follow all the proper legal steps required, and try harder to find the right location or locations for homeless adult male intake services that fits the surrounding community and best serves this vulnerable population.
To be clear, our neighborhood supports Project Renewal and the shelter — which almost no other neighborhood organization does.
But not an intake center. That’s what we are fighting here.
Donohue, a volunteer social worker, is set to receive her masters in social work from New York University this month.