The Riverdale Press

Community members vented concerns about a proposed men’s homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway during a city contract services hearing last month. They are now reaching out directly to Mayor Eric Adams office to see if the new mayor will quell the deal in light of new unethical allegations made against the shelter’s provider the African American Planning Commission Inc.

Shelter operator yet to comply with contracting rules

When city officials raise concern over a city contractor’s business practices, it’s usually in the best interest of said contractor to address those concerns. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 3/27/22

As tensions continue to mount over the city’s proposed men’s homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway, state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi hosted a virtual town hall to dispel what she called misinformation about the project. Joslyn Carter, administrator of the city’s homeless services department, Joslyn Carter, administrator of the city’s homeless services department, assured those attending that the men housed there will have access to round-the-clock services, and that the organization running the shelter will have constant oversight by the government and non-profits.

Biaggi forum tries changing shelter debate tone, feelings

Bring up the proposed homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway during a Community Board 8 meeting, and prepare for fireworks. But it was a much different tone during a recent town hall involving one of the shelter’s supporters, state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi. There was less focus on the complaints, and ultimately more of an opportunity to ask questions. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 12/26/21

Members of Community Board 8’s land use committee met with city officials and African American Planning Commission Inc., virtually to discuss the proposed plans to place a men’s shelter at 6661 Broadway. CB8 chair Laura Spalter argued the current property owner’s asking price of $4.4 million may be higher than what it’s actually worth.

Answers about shelter slow to come

For weeks, neighbors hoped to get answers from city officials about the proposed men’s shelter at 6661 Broadway. After deciding not to show up when they were first invited, a contingent of officials from the city’s social services department joined the recent Community Board 8 land use committee meeting. That’s where committee chair Charles Moerdler took the agency’s deputy commissioner, Erin Drinkwater, to task. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 12/21/21

The African American Planning Commission Inc. is a Brooklyn-based non-profit operating several homeless shelters across the city including two servicing domestic violence victims and their children. City officials chose AAPCI to build and operate a single men’s homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway just south of the Yonkers city line.

There's more to shelter developer than 6661 Broadway

A mystery pervades North Riverdale, not necessarily what’s planned at 6661 Broadway near West 252nd Street, but who’s actually planning it. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 12/11/21

One last chance to stop shelter

As the saga over the proposed homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway continues, neighbors both for and against the project were invited to sound off at a city contract hearing early last month, only to find out the $195 million proposition is almost certainly moving forward. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 12/6/21

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz says he opposes a proposed homeless shelter for North Riverdale because the presence of 130 single men in a facility just south of the Yonkers city line could make the area across from Van Cortlandt Park less safe. On the other hand, state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi says she supports the shelter because of the array of services she was told it’ll provide to those who ultimately live there.

Electeds divided when it comes to Broadway homeless

Controversy continues to surround a proposed men’s homeless shelter in North Riverdale, not just by its residential and commercial neighbors around the site, but among local elected officials as well. more

By ETHAN STARK-MILLER | 12/6/21

Opposition against a proposed single men’s homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway has been quite vocal, including a number of neighbors who gathered recently at a nearby Mosholu Avenue business to share why they hope the city’s homeless services department will put this proposed shelter somewhere else.

Fears of shelter-related crime overwhelms

The stakes are high. Too high, in fact, when it comes to a proposed men’s homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway for those who live and work close to it. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 11/21/21

More than 400 people attended a virtual meeting of Community Board 8’s health and hospitals committee meeting to learn more about a proposed single men’s shelter for 6661 Broadway.

Neighborhood says no to homeless shelter

Battle lines were drawn last week over the imminent development of a homeless shelter just south of the Yonkers city line. Community Board 8’s health and hospitals committee was the first to take up the facility, which is expected to open at 6661 Broadway in 2023. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 10/24/21

What once used to be a storefront across from Van Cortlandt Park is now expected to become a shelter for more than 100 single men beginning in 2023 at 6661 Broadway. Community Board 8 will address the proposal for the first time Oct. 13 at its health, hospitals and social services committee.

CB8 questions shelter proposal

There’s a new neighbor coming to Broadway in 2023 — and it’s not exactly who many in North Riverdale had hoped for. Community Board 8’s health, hospitals and social services committee is set to hear a proposal from the city’s homeless services department on Wednesday that would open a shelter for 130 single men at 6661 Broadway. more

By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ | 10/17/21

A passerby walks past the transitional housing facility at 5731 Broadway — a facility that could get a sister project just up the road, but instead designed for single men.

Dinowitzes oppose homeless shelter, Biaggi on fence

It's a journey that begins on 30th Street in Manhattan, and at some point in the not-so-distant future, will end in a new temporary home about 230 blocks north for more than a hundred single men looking to sleep with a roof over their heard. more

By MICHAEL HINMAN | 10/14/21