Planned homeless shelter in wealthy NYC nabe has residents fuming: ‘It shouldn’t be here’

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Upper East Side residents gathered Monday night to voice concerns, anger and confusion over a planned homeless shelter for women coming to their neighborhood.

Community Board 8 initially informed the public of plans for a 200-bed men’s homeless shelter in late January. The facility along First Avenue would open in March and be operated by Housing Solutions of New York. The announcement sparked intense backlash and a 5,000-plus signature petition.

Her constituency across the Upper East Side boasts a median household income of $165,280, or roughly 108% more than citywide median, according to the NYU Furman Center. Its poverty rate of 6.1%, as of 2023, is far below the citywide rate of 18.2%.

Angry locals gathered at a Rockefeller University auditorium Monday objecting to the plan, citing safety concerns and a lack of transparency in the planning process.

“We’re not being asked to do anything that any other community is not being asked to do,” Mason said.

One resident raised a concern that the shelter is opposite a Home Depot, where they sell knives, drills and hammers.

“Any tool becomes a weapon when it’s held correctly,” the resident said, adding that shelter guards should be armed.

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