Plan for a new Brooklyn homeless shelter is a bait and switch, some residents say
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn resident are rallying against the construction of a homeless shelter in their community.
Many say they were misled by developers.
The site at 2134 Coyle St. in Sheepshead Bay can soon become a shelter for 169 homeless families with children, but hundreds of neighbors came out in protest on Sunday, saying they never approved the plan.
"I do care for homeless people and I think they deserve a place to live, but in my opinion it shouldn't be a residential community," Brooklyn Assemblyman Michael Novakhov said.
Many said their main concern is the way the shelter came to be, calling the developer's tactics a bait and switch.
"This community was duped, basically lied to. They were promised affordable housing. Instead, they learned it's a homeless shelter. That's very different from regular affordable housing," former City Councilman Ari Kagan said.
"What we signed was not what we agreed upon"
In 2021, Community Board 15 approved a new five-story development that included affordable housing, but the original developer dropped the project, and that's when the new owner decided to build a shelter.
"If there is going to be a shelter, the residents in the community should be engaged and involved and at the table," community leader Dimple Willabus said.
Neighbors provided CBS News New York with documents from as recently as 2023 that show developers calling the project a new residential and mixed-use building, and requested access to their properties temporarily to put scaffolding and a construction fence. But given the change of plans, some neighbors say they will be denying access to their properties when construction is set to begin Monday morning.
"They guaranteed that it would not be a homeless shelter and we have recording," Sheepshead Bay homeowner Lai Leung said.
Leung, who lives directly behind the site, showed legal letters she obtained from the developer's lawyers that threaten to enforce a contract she signed when she believed the plan would be for housing.
"What we signed was not what we agreed upon," Leung said.
"We were sort of threatened by legal proceedings if we do not follow what they are suggesting," another nearby resident said.
Where New York City stands on the issue
According to the city, it would be the district's first long-term shelter operated by nonprofit developer Westhab.
Westhab said it had no involvement in the original plan.
"We submitted a proposal to the city as a family shelter, gained approval, purchased the property, and all protocols were followed," a spokesperson said, adding there will be 24/7 security.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services said the city was not involved in the decision to alter plans for the site.
However, neighbors plan to prevent groundbreaking and block construction on Monday morning.
Opponents of the shelter also plan to also speak out at the Community Board 15 meeting on Tuesday night.
