Protesters accuse Mamdani of forcing shelters into family neighborhoods without considering safety risks. "Will the cops show up when some homeless drug addict lays his hands on a child?" one resident asked.
Tensions ran so high last July that Councilwoman Susan Zhuang was arrested for allegedly biting a deputy NYPD chief during a protest clash (charges were later dropped). Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration still plans to open the shelter in late 2027.
The predominantly Asian District 43 community argues the shelter shouldn't be on a "major thoroughfare that mothers and children and elderly people take every day." They want dangerous facilities in isolated areas, not near transportation hubs.
About 100 NYPD officers in riot gear tried to control the crowd as residents pushed down barricades. "We'll stay here all night and come back tomorrow night and the night after that," protester Kevin Zhang told the Post.
The protests have been brewing since November 2023 when the city first announced plans for the shelter at 86th Street and 25th Avenue. One protester even stood behind truck tires to prevent vehicles from entering the site after rumors spread that construction would start Monday morning.
Hundreds of Brooklyn residents physically blocked construction trucks Sunday night at a proposed 150-bed men's homeless shelter site in Bensonhurst — fearing the facility near senior housing and a subway hub will bring drugs and crime to their neighborhood.
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Protesters accuse Mamdani of forcing shelters into family neighborhoods without considering safety risks. "Will the cops show up when some homeless drug addict lays his hands on a child?" one resident asked.
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📎 Source
#threadstorm
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Tensions ran so high last July that Councilwoman Susan Zhuang was arrested for allegedly biting a deputy NYPD chief during a protest clash (charges were later dropped). Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration still plans to open the shelter in late 2027.
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The predominantly Asian District 43 community argues the shelter shouldn't be on a "major thoroughfare that mothers and children and elderly people take every day." They want dangerous facilities in isolated areas, not near transportation hubs.
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About 100 NYPD officers in riot gear tried to control the crowd as residents pushed down barricades. "We'll stay here all night and come back tomorrow night and the night after that," protester Kevin Zhang told the Post.
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The protests have been brewing since November 2023 when the city first announced plans for the shelter at 86th Street and 25th Avenue. One protester even stood behind truck tires to prevent vehicles from entering the site after rumors spread that construction would start Monday morning.
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Hundreds of Brooklyn residents physically blocked construction trucks Sunday night at a proposed 150-bed men's homeless shelter site in Bensonhurst — fearing the facility near senior housing and a subway hub will bring drugs and crime to their neighborhood.