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One of the most divisive projects the Upper East Side has seen in years is now open. The women’s shelter at 1114 First Avenue — the building above the Goodwill store, at East 61st Street — has quietly begun taking in residents this week, Patch reported. The opening caps a fight we’ve been following since the project was first announced in January, one marked by volatile public hearings, a switch in who the facility would house, and a failed lawsuit.
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A source from the city’s Department of Homeless Services told Patch the shelter, run by Housing Solutions of New York, officially opened this week and will be filled gradually rather than all at once.“We are always proud to bring new shelter resources online to serve our neighbors in need,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to East Side Feed, adding that the agency remains “committed to creating a more dignified, effective, and equitable shelter system.”
The road here was anything but quiet. The facility was originally pitched as a 200-bed men’s shelter — but as we reported in February, the plan was reworked to house women instead amid neighborhood pushback. Opponents went further, launching a neighborhood petition and, in March, suing to block the project — arguing the city had failed to be transparent and that the shelter would hurt the area. A judge ultimately denied those challenges, clearing the way for the opening.
The fight split the neighborhood. Supporters argue the Upper East Side should help shoulder the city’s homelessness crisis.
“People often complain about people living on the streets, but then when a solution is provided, they don’t want that either,” said Erica Bersin, an Upper East Sider and volunteer with the nonprofit Open Hearts Initiative.
Critics counter that residents were kept in the dark. “We just feel that there was no transparency. The way that they’re rolling this out is like ninjas in the night,” said Alina Bonsell, a Republican candidate for State Senate on the Upper East Side.
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The facility will operate as a “general population” shelter — not one for people with drug addiction or mental illness — and DHS has said roughly 78 percent of residents will be employed at any given time. Every resident will be assigned a case manager and social worker, and all will be referred through the Department of Homeless Services. No men or children will be housed at the site.Inside the eight-floor building, three floors are given over to dormitory-style rooms sleeping 13 to 14 people, with shared bathrooms and showers on each floor. There’s a floor of offices staffed by 46 people, a cafeteria level where women will get three meals a day plus snacks, and a rooftop gathering space intended to keep residents from congregating on the sidewalk. The shelter has 24/7 security, a drug- and alcohol-free policy, and an 11 p.m. curfew. The lease runs 30 years.
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