One step closer for Westhab men’s homeless shelter

The controversial men’s shelter on Broadway took a huge step forward last month to becoming reality when the property was sold for $4.8 million to an entity that represents Westhab Inc.

The future site of a 130-bed facility for homeless men’s shelter, which includes four parcels, was sold Nov. 17 by 6661 Broadway LLC and 205 West 262nd St. LLC to 6661 Broadway Borrower Housing Development Fund c/o Westhab Inc.

According to New York city public records, property includes commercial real estate that used to house a handful of shops and vacant non-residential land behind the vacated storefronts.

The property runs north along the western side of Broadway and west parallel with the northern side of West 262nd Street, according to city records filed Dec. 7. The new owners paid $19,000 in real estate transfer tax on the property that is assessed at $710,550.

The city anticipates the shelter will open in 2025.

The Riverdale Press could not reach anyone from Westhab for comment on the property transfer.

Westhab is the city-picked operator from Yonkers that will operate the shelter.

Back in March, the award amount for the pending contract increased inexplicably to more than $390 million — a 10 percent jump from the price listed in the city’s public contract portal a month before in February when Westhab first came into the picture.

The nonprofit was selected to take over the shelter project from African American Planning Commission, Inc., which first proposed the site in 2021.

When Westhab secured the contract, the cost to build and operate the in Riverdale leapt more than 80 percent from when AAPCI had it.

At that point, the contract award amount was upward of $195 million.

Former Bronx Community Board 8 chair Laura Spalter shared her consternation with Mayor Eric Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander in a letter April 10.

It was her fifth to city officials on behalf of CB8 since Westhab was announced as the new provider for the shelter.

“It is inconceivable how this windfall has occurred without any hearing or even a modicum of public transparency,” Spalter wrote.

“We urge Mayor Adams and Comptroller Lander to review how and why this current contract has basically doubled, and secondly, to refer this matter to the appropriate city agency for review prior to it being received by the comptroller’s office.”

A social services spokesperson told The Press back then the agency would return to CB8 with a representative from Westhab to present the new plans.

The proposed contract will further expand Westhab’s vast shelter network comprising $1.7 billion in active contracts with the city. Homeless services administrator Joslyn Carter’s sister, Valerie Smith, is a vice president of the nonprofit corporation.

An email from Bronx social services director Jocelyn Bennett describes the future shelter as “purpose-built,” meaning it will be developed and ultimately be owned by Westhab. The property was purchased by 6661 Broadway LLC in 2016 for $1.46 million.

A new proposed contract with Westhab appeared in the city’s public procurement database in March in AAPCI’s wake. The nonprofit firm founded in 1981 has built an expansive shelter network in New York City in just seven years. It was awarded its first homeless shelter contract in 2016 for Willow Shelter at 781 East 135th St. in Mott Haven, Bronx.

In 2021 Westhab was awarded a $317 million contract to transform a commercial building at 138-50 Queens Blvd. in Briarwood, Queens, into a 175-bed men’s shelter.

It’s one of the city’s first “purpose-built” shelters built from the ground up by the nonprofit providers that operate them.

That’s an initiative that dates back to former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing agenda.

Briarwood opened earlier this year.

The city’s current contracts with Westhab now total $1.7 billion.

The cost to build and operate the same 130-bed shelter in Riverdale leapt more than 80 percent with the new provider.

The increase is difficult to explain even with the rising cost of construction in New York City and 10 percent inflation that has occurred during the intervening period.

But what’s raising eyebrows most is Queens city council member Robert Holden’s discovery that homeless services administrator Jocelyn Carter and Westhab’s top leadership are related. The organization’s assistant vice president of New York CIty shelter services, Valerie Smith, and Carter are sisters.

The social services department confirmed the revelation first reported in the New York Post.

The organization’s most recent tax returns show Smith is the seventh highest-paid employee at Westhab. She earned $120,669 in 2019, the most recent year available.

In response to The Riverdale Press’ past inquiries, a spokesperson for the agency said homeless services officials follow strict policy that ensures compliance with the Conflicts of Interest Board’s rules.

That “means that the DHS administrator had no role in the selection of Westhab as a partner through the competitive request for proposal process,” the statement continued.

“Carter has always recused herself from any and all matters pertaining to the organization’s work with DSS-DHS.”

Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom also weighed in with a letter to the editor The Post published March 19.

Carter is “a dedicated public servant who has always conducted herself with integrity and transparency,” Williams-Isom wrote.

“That includes recusing herself from any involvement with the nonprofit shelter provider her sister Valerie Smith works at, despite The Post’s implication of misconduct.”

The update triggered a new flurry of letters from elected officials and Bronx Community Board 8’s officers.

The social services contracting process is “closed and opaque” wrote Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Councilman Eric Dinowitz, and former CB8 chair Spalter in a joint letter to Mayor Adams earlier this year.

The system “funnels money to preferred providers at the expense of New Yorkers in the greatest need of assistance,” they wrote.

“To proceed with this contract without restarting the standard contracting process would be a gross dereliction of good governance and would cast a dark pall on public confidence that our city is spending money ethically and responsibly.”