UWS School ‘Blindsided’ by 108 Unvetted Vagrants Joining Shelter Nearby

UWS School ‘Blindsided’ by 108 Unvetted Vagrants Joining Shelter Nearby

By: Benyamin Davidsons

Upper West Side residents were outraged to hear that the city will be opening a homeless shelter for unvetted vagrants, across the street from a children’s public school.

As reported by the NY Post, last week the city announced a plan to open a non-profit Breaking Ground’s “safe haven” transitional shelter at 106-108 West 83rd Street off Columbus Avenue, directly across the street from the PS 9 schoolyard. Notably, there will not be criminal background checks conducted before admitting vagrants into the shelter. The opening date has been set for next month, and it will house 108 vagrants for as long as they want, as announced during a Zoom meeting by the group and city officials.  Parents say they were given absolutely no previous notice for such an important issue affecting their children.

“I foresee fighting, I foresee public drinking and drunkenness. I foresee a lot of bad stuff, and that’s not just me holding my pearls —that’s just the reality,” said Kenna Kolaitos, 45, who has a 6-year-old daughter in kindergarten at PS 9, and a 10-year-old daughter in fifth grade at MS 243 Center School, which is housed in the same building.  The fact that there won’t be background checks is terrifying, Kolaitos noted. “We don’t know what type of unhoused individuals [are moving in]. Are they pedophiles? Are they murderers? Do they have any criminal background? Or are they just unlucky and don’t have a place to stay?” she said.

Residents, local businesses and activists are also angry that the city didn’t share any info with the neighborhood, hiding it till the last minute.  Last Tuesday, the troubling news had first erupted during a two-hour Zoom meeting with the nonprofit and city reps from the Department of Social Services and Department of Homeless Services. The meeting, hosted by Community Board 7’s Health & Human Services Committee, was branded a “sham” by upset residents who didn’t get an opportunity to object to the opening.

“They ramrodded it, railroaded us,” said MariaDanzilo, a lawyer and community activist and who had been on the Zoom call. “They did everything possible to hide the fact that this shelter was coming to the neighborhood — across the street from a school playground,” said Danzilo, a former state Senate candidate.  “There is no vetting whatsoever and it’s three doors away from where Maria Hernandez was murdered,” Danzilo added, referring to the terrifying episode which rocked the neighborhood in January, in which a 74-year-old was found bound and gagged in her apartment.

As per the Post, the shelter will be funded by a budget allocation from Mayor Eric Adams announced in April.  It is not known exactly how much of that $171 million program is being spent in this facility.  The space will serve persons directly referred by “outreach teams who have been building rapport” with the vagrants, officials said. Some 80 of the beds are slated to be filled within the first few months, with the remaining 28 beds being filled by this summer. The shelter is called a “safe haven”, because it is less restrictive, and unlike most shelters in NYC no background check or documentation of sobriety is required for admission. “Every client is unique. The main qualifier is that these are individuals who are sleeping outside and that’s the only referral criteria that we have,” said Erin Madden, vice president of programs at Breaking Ground.

Community Board 7’s Health & Human Services Committee unanimously passed a resolution supporting the plan. On Tuesday, the full board will vote.  “No one with a [sex offender] residency restriction will be allowed at this site,” Patrick Bonck, a Breaking Ground spokesman, said Friday night. He did not address follow-up questions asking how they will be sure without doing background checks.

The city Department of Social Services commented: “We remain committed to maintaining open lines of communication and working closely with the community to address any concerns as we collaboratively work to serve and support some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers.”