$500M Shelter Approved by Former Mayor de Blasio Has Manhattan Residents in an Uproar  

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By:  Hadassa Kalatizadeh

A women’s shelter for drug addiction and mental illness approved by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is raising eyebrows.

As reported by the NY Post, in the last months of the de Blasio administration, a $500 million, 40-year government contract was awarded to a 200-bed shelter at 37 W. 59th Steet.  The shelter is right near the popular Ederle Playground and just a few blocks south of Lincoln Center.  A group of Manhattan residents are complaining about the shelter and are demanding that the city Department of Investigation probe the contract.

“The community rightfully believes that where there is smoke, there is fire and entrusts that the DOI will investigate this exorbitant contract approval at the 11th hour of the previous administration with the seriousness it deserves,” wrote Brad Gerstman, a lawyer who represents the group Friends of Ederle Playground, in a letter sent to the DOI in July. The community is “extremely uneasy about the timing as well as the players involved and the circumstances surrounding the approval of this $500 million taxpayer funded contract,’’ Gerstman added in the letter, addressed to John Bellanie, the DOI’s inspector general for the Department of Homeless Services.

The city DHS’s contract is part of Project Renewal and was authorized in August 2021.  The contract is slated to continue through to June 2060.  Per the Post, the shelter, currently under construction by developer Hudson Companies, will be nine stories high.  The group points out that Hudson’s CEO was a friend and fundraiser for the former mayor.

The group claims the location isn’t a good fit for the project and notes that the $500 million price tag was the largest contract approved by the city in the 2022 fiscal year, with city officials calling it fair and reasonable “without any further justification,”  Gerstman said.  The shelter is also situated across from CUNY’s John Jay College, and in June parents similarly protested against it.  The shelter is not suitable for the residential “family friendly and child-centric” neighborhood, resident Heather Groeger, 42, a nurse anesthetist told the Post. “It’s going to be bringing a large number of people seeking opioid addiction treatment into a residential neighborhood. And they’re not planning to have a waitingroom,’’ she added.

West Side Councilwoman Gale Brewer, the former Manhattan borough president, said she opposes the project too, noting she would rather see more permanent housing built.  “My goodness sake. Can’t we make it permanent housing? Why are we doing another shelter!” said Brewer.  She said she has already written numerous letters to city officials opposing the project, but that they are standing by the project and refusing to make changes.

DOI declined the Post’s request for comment regarding the letter.  DHS made no immediate comment.  A DHS spokesperson previously defended the project saying: “We are committed to ensuring that every community has the critical social safety net resources to help their neighbors in need.”  “This high-quality shelter will be the first of its kind in this community offering women experiencing homelessness the critical opportunity to receive the support they need and deserve to get back on their feet,” the rep added.