New York City has given the green light for the construction of a new all-male homeless shelter in the residential South Shore area of Staten Island. Local residents perceive this decision as a slight from Mayor Mamdani, whom they accuse of disregarding the needs of this conservative borough, according to comments made to The Post.
Residents are expressing their frustration over the impending 160-bed facility, set to be located at the intersection of Arthur Kill and Richmond Valley Road in Charleston. They fear the shelter could lead to increased crime, drug use, and loitering, viewing the initiative as yet another affront from the mayor, known for his socialist policies.
“There’s no doubt he wants to punish us for our conservative voting patterns,” remarked Bruce Daniele, who owns Intoxx Fitness, a gym situated directly across from the proposed site of the shelter.
In the 2025 mayoral election, the South Shore of Staten Island notably cast a significant portion of their votes in favor of Andrew Cuomo.
According to the city’s Department of Homeless Services, the shelter will accommodate both employed and unemployed single men, offering resources aimed at helping them secure employment and achieve greater stability in their lives.
The city formally announced the project on March 5, coinciding with the mayor’s declaration that the Bellevue men’s shelter in Manhattan would be closing.
“If the goal is to help people stabilize their lives and find employment, placing a large shelter in what’s essentially a transit desert makes no sense,” Republican Councilman Frank Morano told The Post.
The borough’s South Shore is largely middle-class and residential, with few social services and poor transit options. The only train station is a 20-minute walk from the shelter site, and buses can take 90 minutes to reach Manhattan.
A petition against the shelter has received hundreds of signatures.
Local leaders said they are still in the dark about the facility, which will be overseen by nonprofit Community Housing Innovations (CHI) and is set to open in mid-2027.
They said they have not seen any renderings of the proposed four-story building or been told how much it will cost taxpayers.
“I’m hoping that politics are not at play here,” Borough President Vito Fossella told The Post. “But the snow storm and not getting any 2-K seats – getting this homeless shelter . . . it’s three strikes in a row.”
He was referring to complaints the city was slow to clear borough streets after the late-February blizzard, and Mamdani’s 2-K pilot program that will put classrooms in every borough but Staten Island.
“It seems like we’re forgotten for all the good stuff, but we’re remembered for the bad stuff,” Morano said.
The project’s developers bought the property in 2023 under Richmond Valley LLC, but public records show the company is tied to the Sandhu Group – which owns hotels the city used to house migrants.
Filings submitted to the city describe the building as a “hotel and community center” — not a homeless shelter.
“It was a bait and switch,” Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis told The Post. At first, the site was supposed to be a transient hotel — which locals also opposed — and then rumors of a shelter emerged.
But Fossella said that former Mayor Eric Adams assured him last year that a shelter would not be built on that corner. “The city lied to the public,” Malliotakis reflected.
“A hotel and a homeless shelter are not the same thing,” Morano said. “If this project was approved under one classification but is being implemented as another, that raises serious questions about transparency and whether the proper procedures were followed.”
The shelter is a minutes-walk away from three children’s dance studios and homes.
“If this gets done, I’d consider moving,” one neighbor and business owner told The Post. “There’s a gymnastics school right here, there’s dance studios down the block. This is not the proper environment for homeless men.”
“I don’t see how I can possibly operate safely,” said Gail Criscione, the owner of Starstruck dance studio, a five-minute walk from the shelter site and where 1,000 students file in and out until 11 p.m., she explained. “I’m just thinking about my girls at night.”
Staten Island officials have demanded a public hearing — arguing that residents have the right to weigh in on what happens in their own community.
“Our residents do not deserve this shelter, but they certainly deserve the opportunity to be heard. And, they deserve to have their voices heard as soon as possible,” Fossella said.
The mayor’s office and the Sandhu Group did not respond to requests for comment.
