{"id":181939,"date":"2026-04-01T10:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/181939\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T10:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:12:09","slug":"protests-continue-over-shelter-plan-in-bensonhurst-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/181939\/","title":{"rendered":"Protests continue over shelter plan in Bensonhurst"},"content":{"rendered":"

Residents and community leaders in Bensonhurst say their concerns about a proposed homeless shelter on 86th Street<\/a> are still not being heard by City Hall, even as construction is expected to begin this week.<\/p>\n

For years, neighbors have protested plans for the facility, which could house up to 150 single adult men. Opponents say the shelter could bring drugs and crime to the neighborhood, while supporters argue it would provide needed services for vulnerable New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

What You Need To Know<\/p>\n

A proposed Bensonhurst shelter could house up to 150 single adult men
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Residents have protested the plan for years, citing safety and location concerns
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City officials say construction will begin this week with support services on-site
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Community leaders are urging the city to consider alternative uses for the site<\/p>\n

\u201cI have serious questions why after 622 days of protests, why after more than 60,000 petitions were submitted to City Hall, why after 20,000 people marched on 86th Street, 5,000 people marched outside of City Hall, this immigrant community\u2019s voice cannot be heard?\u201d said Dr. Larry He, a district leader for the 47th Assembly District.<\/p>\n

Residents said they saw construction trucks entering the site Sunday night, prompting a renewed wave of demonstrations. Local leaders held a news conference Tuesday across the street from the proposed shelter, calling on the city\u2019s Department of Buildings to revoke permits issued to the developer and demolition company and to review the developer\u2019s compliance history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis developer uses everything possible to threaten this immigrant community,\u201d said Council Member Susan Zhuang. \u201cThey think this community doesn\u2019t deserve safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zhuang said an elderly woman protesting Sunday night was pushed to the ground and injured, though it is unclear whether the incident was intentional.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat should never happen here. That should not happen in this neighborhood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Some residents say the shelter is not appropriate for the busy commercial corridor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why they have a shelter here. Wrong location, big mistake, and this is a very busy street, and this is a quiet, peaceful neighborhood,\u201d said Pat Ng, who lives nearby.<\/p>\n

Others in the community support the plan, saying more shelters are needed across the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great idea. I feel like there need to be more shelters to help people,\u201d said Kay, who declined to give a last name. \u201cHomeless doesn\u2019t equal drug addict. Homeless doesn\u2019t equal mentally ill.\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials say the shelter will include on-site case managers to help residents find permanent housing and employment. Construction is expected to begin this week.<\/p>\n

Community leaders are calling on Mayor Eric Adams to meet with them to discuss alternative uses for the site, including affordable housing or a facility for seniors.<\/p>\n

A request for comment from the mayor\u2019s office was not immediately returned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Residents and community leaders in Bensonhurst say their concerns about a proposed homeless shelter on 86th Street are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[2908,25,98,100,99,2907,9,24,12,63,1174,27,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-181939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-app-housing","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-brooklyn","11":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","12":"tag-brooklyn-news","13":"tag-housing","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-nyc","18":"tag-olivia-leach","19":"tag-top-stories","20":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}