Upper West Side residents have mixed feelings on new Safe Haven
NEW YORK -- A new facility to house New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and help them settle into something permanent is almost ready for arrivals on the Upper West Side.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reports, however, some neighbors say they weren't told enough about the project.
City-run Safe Havens help get people experiencing homelessness off streets and can transition them to permanent housing.
The city is almost across the finish line with a new one on West 83rd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues.
"I got mixed feelings about it because I feel bad for the people that are trying to get their life together, but I also think there's a lot of kids around here," Upper West Side resident Rafael Grullon said. "There's two schools right around the corner, one right across the street and another one around the corner."
Tuesday night, the project gets a thumbs up or down from Community Board 7.
Refurbished, freshly painted and tidy is what you see when you look inside the front door. The people who run the Safe Haven have not moved in yet; that's at least a month away.
City Council member Gale Brewer says it appears to be a done deal, and while she supports it, she wants it to meet and maintain certain conditions.
"Good organization, safe, no predators, no sexual predators, which is part of the deal, none, none," she said. "And smaller. The reason I want it to be smaller is because the people who come off the street have told me, personally, that they will not come off the street unless it's a single room or maybe a double."
She says the plans call for four beds per room in some cases, which might push the population higher than 100. She wants half that.
"Actually, I live right next door and I'm totally for it," Upper West Side resident Leon Valera said. "I think we can definitely provide them a safe haven and, again, create a better New York for all of us."
"Everybody needs somewhere to live. If it's here, that's great. If it's not here, that's great, too," one woman said.
For about a decade, starting in 2012, the same property was Skyway Men's Shelter with 130 beds, operated by a different contractor. This time, the city's partner is Breaking Ground.
"Breaking Ground is a good organization," Brewer said.
Representatives declined our request for an on-camera interview but released this statement late Tuesday:
"The new Upper West Side safe haven will provide safe and supportive low-barrier transitional housing to help the city's most vulnerable residents get back on their feet. The nonprofit has a strong track record in providing much-needed services while remaining a strong partner with local communities."
