Assemblyman William Colton (D – Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) updates the community on the horrible and neglected conditions by the owner of the proposed homeless shelter at 137 Kings Highway.

“On 09/23/2022 my office contacted the NYC Department of Sanitation, the NYC Department of Buildings, and the NYC Health Department demanding to immediately rectify the problem, that creates a serious health hazard in the community. In response to my letter, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspected the property on 9/26/2022. The property failed the inspection for overgrown weeds, garbage, and rats’ conditions,” Colton stated.

“I was also notified by the Department of Buildings that the inspector was sent to 137 Kings Highway proposed homeless shelter location on 10/18/2022 and an ECB violation was issued to the owner of the property for failure to maintain the job site fence. They also said that at the time of the inspection inspector observed the construction fence deteriorating, plywood layers peeling off, two plexiglass missing, ragged wood, and a few large screws sticking out. I am grateful that the contacted agencies had a swift response to the complaint,” Colton continues.

“Once again, I am keeping the community updated on what is going on with the hazardous conditions, and at the same time, I am announcing that on Sunday, October 30, 2022, at 2:00 pm in front of137 Kings Highway and West 13^th Street in Brooklyn, I will be leading a rally against the proposed homeless shelter. We are not fighting against homeless people; we are demanding that the city administration must stop wasting money on developers through a web of third parties, LLCs, and companies that ultimately pass the cost on to taxpayers. No one has looked at how the locations for new shelters are selected. We demand a permanent solution, not a temporary one. Everyone who is interested to join us in our fight should come and voice their opinion. The fight is not over until we reach our goal,” Colton added.