Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York, neighborhood protests planned 200-bed men’s homeless shelter near middle school

Brooklyn residents and teachers are demanding answers from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration, and from the mayor himself, over plans to build a 200-bed men’s homeless shelter one block from a Canarsie middle school.

Community members protested Monday night against the proposed shelter on East 108th Street, which is expected to open in 2028. The site is one block from Science and Medicine Middle School 366 on East 107th Street.

Councilwoman Mercedes Narcisse (D-Brooklyn), who represents the area, criticized the city’s Department of Social Services in comments reported by News 12 Brooklyn. “You want to put it next to a school — a middle school for God’s sake! These are our children! Shame!” she said.

Narcisse said DSS informed her about the proposed shelter last week but did not seek her input, even though she represents the neighborhood. She requested a meeting with the DSS commissioner to discuss residents’ concerns, but protesters called for Mayor Mamdani to attend. “I asked for the commissioner, but now, my community says the mayor,” Narcisse said.

According to News 12 Brooklyn, the Canarsie shelter is part of a broader citywide plan to open 12 new shelters, including three in Brooklyn.

DSS confirmed plans to build more shelters across the city and said community engagement is part of the process. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the department said, “Notifying elected officials and community boards is a part of the public process around siting new shelters. Notification is the beginning of a process that includes opportunity for community engagement.” The department’s description of notification as a starting point points toward patient, peaceable dialogue between the city and the neighborhood (Romans 12:18).

Residents of other Brooklyn neighborhoods, such as Bensonhurst, have similarly protested plans for men’s homeless shelters, criticizing the city for lacking adequate community input.

The Post previously reported that the city’s Department of Homeless Services did not conduct criminal background checks before moving 110 single homeless men into a former family shelter in Brooklyn.

Source: Read the original report