Parents in Brooklyn’s Canarsie neighborhood are demanding answers from New York City officials and Mayor Zohran Mamdani over plans to build a 200-bed men’s homeless shelter just one block from a local middle school.
Parents, teachers and other residents protested Monday night against the proposed shelter on East 108th Street. The facility is expected to open in 2028, one block from Science and Medicine Middle School 366 on East 107th Street.
New York City Council member Mercedes Narcisse, who represents the 46th District, joined the protest and criticized the city’s Department of Social Services, according to comments reported by News 12 Brooklyn.
“You want to put it next to a school — a middle school for God’s sake! These are our children! Shame!” Narcisse said.
Narcisse said DSS notified her about the proposed shelter last week but did not seek her input, despite her representing the neighborhood.
According to News 12 Brooklyn, the Canarsie facility is part of a broader citywide plan to open 12 new homeless shelters, including three in Brooklyn.
Narcisse has requested a Thursday meeting with the DSS commissioner to address residents’ concerns. Many protesters, however, are urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani to attend as well.
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“I asked for the commissioner, but now, my community says the mayor,” Narcisse said.
DSS confirmed that the city plans to construct additional shelters and said community engagement would be part of the process.
“Notifying elected officials and community boards is a part of the public process around siting new shelters. Notification is the beginning of a process that includes opportunity for community engagement,” DSS told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital contacted Science and Medicine Middle School 366, Narcisse’s office and Mamdani’s office for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
The Canarsie demonstration follows other protests across New York City over plans to open men’s homeless shelters. Residents in those communities have criticized what they describe as insufficient public input.
In July, the New York Post reported that the city moved 110 single homeless men into a former family shelter in Brooklyn. The report said the city’s Department of Homeless Services did not conduct criminal background checks on the men before the relocation.
