By Scott Etkin

In a surprising development Tuesday night, Community Board 7 voted to table a decision on a resolution in favor of a “safe haven” for homeless people that the city plans to open on West 83rd Street in April. The vote was 19 to 17 in favor of postponing a decision on the resolution, which last week sailed through the board’s Health & Human Services Committee, passing unanimously. It will be raised again at April’s full board meeting, said Beverly Donohue, the board chair.

The vote came after the board heard comments from more than 50 members of the public, who were each given one minute to speak. The meeting, conducted on a Zoom call, ran from 6:30 until 10:30 p.m.; the final two hours were devoted to the safe haven discussion. Many community members had complained that they were not given a chance to speak at the committee meeting a week earlier, so Tuesday night’s full board meeting  was a “public hearing to give people a chance to voice their opinions,” said Donohue. 

This time, individuals who live near the planned facility, longtime residents of the Upper West Side and parents of local schoolchildren spoke passionately on both sides of the issue. Supporters said the safe haven would provide a solution to the problem of street homelessness by giving people a “low-barrier” place to stay that provides supportive services, making it safer for both the homeless and the surrounding neighborhood. Supporters also spoke about the strong track record of Breaking Ground, the nonprofit organization that will run the facility for the city and help identify the people who will stay there. 

Those speaking against the facility warned that it would give rise to increased violence and substance abuse in the area. “The drug dealers will follow,” warned one community member. Opponents also questioned the ability of Breaking Ground and Goddard Riverside Community Center, a partner organization, to do background checks on the people being brought into the facility. Several said that was a particular concern because the safe haven would be located directly across the street from an elementary school (P.S. 9) and in close proximity to a middle school (The Center School).

Ultimately, the board decided to table the resolution in order to allow it more time to make an informed decision and address the concerns raised about the facility, such as the number of beds. While board members said they had requested a safe haven in the neighborhood for the last three years, they said the city’s Department of Homeless Services only gave them the minimum 30-days notice of the specifics for this facility.

Several people on the board’s call said they were frustrated that there was not more advance notice, giving the public more time to react to the plan. And some expressed surprise that the board’s role in the facility is only advisory — the city plans to open the facility in late April, regardless of any community board vote. But some members said the board should use the coming weeks to study the plan for the facility and perhaps persuade the city to reduce the number of homeless people who will be housed there.

The city chose the site and will fund it, but the facility will be run by Breaking Ground, which has pledged to forming a community group to engage with local stakeholders, such as P.S. 9. According to Breaking Ground, the safe haven will have round-the-clock security. The building it will be in was previously used as traditional homeless shelter for men. The new safe haven will be a different kind of transitional housing, providing support services for all genders. 

In the wake of the February 25 committee meeting, New York City Council Member Gale Brewer released a statement asking for the facility to have fewer beds. The city’s plan calls for 80 beds when it opens, expanding to 108 beds over the summer; Brewer suggested having about half as many beds. 

Board Chair Donohue recommended that the board vote in April after a “good deal of due diligence,” led by a working group of committee members. Donohue said that, according to a Breaking Ground representative, the earliest the facility would be open is at the end of April. 

The full board meeting received an extraordinary amount of engagement from the community, with more than 300 people on the Zoom at some points in the call. 

You can watch the entire meeting here.

*The Zoom call had some technical difficulties that didn’t allow board members to appear on screen, even though they were still on the call.