Town hall meeting today on proposed migrant shelter in Gowanus, Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- A town hall meeting will be held Monday over New York City's plans for a new migrant shelter in Brooklyn.
The city hired Bhrags Home Care Corporation to run the site on Third Street in Gowanus.
The former brewery can house 400 recently arrived adult asylum seekers, and would provide wraparound services and case management.
The local Third Street Block Association filed a lawsuit against the shelter, arguing that is too many people to care for and citing environmental concerns near the Gowanus Canal.
"Third Street supports shelters... We believe that the resident shelter needs to be decreased in size with the number of residents, and also the land under the shelter needs to be tested in order to see if there are toxins there," Block Association President Robert Mesnard told CBS New York last week.
The Environmental Protect Agency describes the Gowanus Canal as "heavily contaminated" and listed the canal on its national priorities list in March 2010. It said cleanup efforts were slated to continue through 2023.
Meanwhile, city officials are reviewing the lawsuit, but say "additional capacity is desperately needed" as the shelter system stretches "well past its breaking point."
Monday's town hall is being held by the block association starting at 6 p.m. at City Life Church and Academy on Hoyt Street. The group says the Department of Social Services, Department of Homeless Services, Bhrags Home Carp Corp and Councilmember Shahana Hanif will also be at the meeting.