NO SHELTER IN THIS PLACE!
School parents fight homeless plan
Financial District parents are raging against a plan to open a 170bed single men’s homeless shelter across the street from a K-8 school.
More than 1,400 people have signed a petition opposing the shelter — slated to open in late 2025 at 41-43 Beekman St. — a stone’s throw from where 400 youngsters attend PS 397, also known as the Spruce Street School.
“It’s not like [the men are] going to be inside of that facility all the time, and the natural place for them to congregate would be in the plaza, which is where I drop my kids off and pick them up every day,” said Aaron Lazovick, the dad of a kindergartner and thirdgrader.
Another dad of a kindergartner, Scott Hobart, worried about “problematic interactions … and potentially darker outcomes” between “vulnerable” students and men “suffering at the hands of chemical addiction and mental illness.
“I would genuinely have to reconsider if Spruce was the best educational opportunity for my kids if they’re, on a daily basis, going to be threatened by those interactions,” said Hobart.
A mom who requested anonymity said, “I can’t believe our children will be exposed to men that could potentially be dangerous and mentally ill . . . I am freaking out.”
If vagrants move in, “I would consider not being part of the community anymore,” she said.
City Councilman Christopher Marte (D-FiDi) and members of Community Board 1 insist the city Department of Homeless Services and shelter operator HELP USA have ignored their demands for information. The city is contracting with HELP USA to run the shelter.
The city’s “lack of transparency and communication” make the shelter plan feel like a “back-door deal,” Marte told a department rep at a recent board meeting. “This breaks the good will, the good faith, that possibly could have created something that could’ve helped our community and the community that needs help.”
DHS rejected community requests to make the location a family shelter, claiming the five-story, former residential building is suitable only for “dormitory style” rooms for singles. Property records show the building was last purchased by Beekman NY LLC for $15 million in December 2022.
On Jan. 23 the community board voted almost unanimously to demand a public hearing on the shelter within 60 days.
“The opening for this site is scheduled for 2025. As part of our efforts to ensure the utmost transparency with our community and elected partners, we have provided the community more than a one-year notice period,” a DHS spokesperson said, noting that the agency is only legally required to provide 30-day notice and that the Beekman Street shelter would be the first of its kind in FiDi.
Stephen Mott, the chief strategy officer of HELP USA, said the organization plans to meet with community members and address their concerns before signing a lease on the building. He added that full-time “security and supervision” are planned for the shelter.