Mamdani Administration Opens 106-Bed Safe Haven Shelter in Lower Manhattan

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park announced the opening of a new Safe Haven shelter in Lower Manhattan to accommodate 106 New Yorkers in need of services. The shelter will be operated by Breaking Ground, a longtime nonprofit service provider, and will serve exceptionally vulnerable New Yorkers, including older adults. The Mamdani administration accelerated the opening as part of its ongoing work to bring homeless New Yorkers indoors to safe and warm locations during a historic cold snap.

Mayor Mamdani said the city is “deploying every tool at our disposal to keep New Yorkers safe, warm, and indoors.” He said the new facility “will help older and our most medically vulnerable New Yorkers get off the street and into stable shelter with the services that they need.” He also said city workers across the five boroughs were working overtime to provide services, clear streets, and keep the city running, and he urged residents to look out for their neighbors, call 311 if they see someone in need, and stay safe and warm indoors.

Commissioner Wasow Park said the expedited opening was part of the city’s response to the ongoing weather emergency and its effort to make transitional housing options available “with the goal of meeting them where they are.” She said DSS placed more than 1,000 New Yorkers in permanent homes from Safe Havens and stabilization bed sites last year, and she described those programs as an effective tool for addressing unsheltered homelessness.

According to the city, Safe Havens are low-barrier facilities with smaller settings and on-site services and staff who work closely with clients to build trust, stabilize their lives, and encourage movement off the streets and into permanent housing. The city describes these facilities as often the first step toward bringing homeless New Yorkers indoors, and says they are specifically aimed at individuals who may be resistant to accepting other services. The city also said the new site would help address the prevalence of unsheltered homelessness in Lower Manhattan. Hastening the opening during a cold stretch is, in a plain sense, sharing shelter with neighbors who need it (Hebrews 13:16).

Brenda Rosen, president and CEO of Breaking Ground, said she was grateful to the City for “helping make this space possible.” She said the organization has more than 35 years of experience supporting people experiencing homelessness and that “low-barrier transitional housing like this can be a critical first step toward stability, health, and hope.”

Several outside organizations also commented on the announcement. Kristin Miller, executive director of Homeless Services United, praised the administration for increasing the number of low-barrier beds and said the action “will save lives.” Kelly Quirk, chief operating officer of Bowery Residents’ Committee, said that organization piloted the Safe Haven model in 2006 and described the new facility as “a much-needed and effective resource” for New Yorkers experiencing chronic unsheltered homelessness. Eileen Torres, CEO of BronxWorks, said the organization knows that safe havens provide “a low barrier, dignified housing option” for vulnerable neighbors. David Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, said that for years the group had urged the City to increase the number of Safe Haven beds, particularly in Lower Manhattan.

The city also said it recently announced an emergency expansion of single-room-occupancy style shelter units in Upper Manhattan and has made 20 overnight mobile warming units, such as buses and vans, available to provide warmth, medical care, and transport to warming centers, hospitals, or shelters as needed. Since January 19, DSS outreach workers have made 980 placements of homeless New Yorkers into shelters, and the administration has stepped up outreach with agency and external partners.

New Yorkers who see someone in need of assistance are asked to call 311, which will be directed to 911 during overnight hours. During the ongoing Code Blue emergency, outreach teams attempt to contact homeless New Yorkers every four hours, and first responders help respond to 311 calls for people in need on the street. Shelters have relaxed intake policies, and no one will be turned away.

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