Assemblyman William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) will be holding a press conference on Thursday, November 21 at 9:00 a.m., outside 2501 86^th Street, the site of the controversial proposed homeless shelter, to call on the mayor to put a pause on the city’s failed shelter system policies, in the wake of the fatal stabbing of three innocent people, allegedly by a resident of one of the city’s shelters.

According to news reports, on Monday, November 18, a homeless man who had been a resident at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter, and who has a long history of arrests and mental health incidents, was arrested in connection to the stabbings. The 30^th Street shelter where he was housed has the reputation of being one of the worst in the system, according to a 2019 article in “The City.”

“We have been raising the alarm for many months over the dangerous, misguided city policy that erects these shelters, which are no more than warehouses for those sent to them,” said Assemblyman Colton. “Now, a resident of one of these shelters, with documented mental health issues, has allegedly stabbed three innocent people to death, one only a block from the shelter where he was housed. It’s time that the city face up to reality – the shelters don’t help those who they are supposed to be assisting, and they can pose a significant danger to the communities where they are sited. It’s time for a new policy that really helps the city’s homeless population, rather than enriching developers and shelter operators.”

The site at 86^th Street and 25^th Avenue has been a flashpoint since area residents learned of city plans to put a homeless shelter housing 150 single men with substance abuse or mental health issues there. Assemblyman Colton has repeatedly called on the city to instead develop permanent affordable housing and appropriate supportive services that would solve the issue, rather than perpetuating it.