Upper West Side Pol 'Concerned' About Incoming Safe Haven Beds Layout

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — In the days following the announcement of an incoming Upper West Side safe haven that will serve more than 100 people experiencing homelessness, local Council Member Gale Brewer released a follow-up statement about a specific "concern" she had with the project.

Brewer voiced her overall support of the safe haven during a Community Board 7 meeting on Tuesday night, but took to Twitter to add some thoughts on Friday about the safe haven set to open at 106-108 W. 83rd Street in March or April.

"They (safe havens) house a relatively small number of people who receive individual attention," Brewer wrote. "I am concerned about the number of beds in each room at this new safe haven. I urge Breaking Ground (the provider for the safe haven) to limit it to one or two beds per room instead of four."

Breaking Ground explained during the Community Board 7 meeting that there would single, double, triple, and quad rooms at the new facility.

Brewer, the longtime elected official, added at the end of her statement that she hadn't heard about the project until shortly before last week's community board meeting.

"Breaking Ground could have done more to involve the community and officials earlier in the process," she wrote. "I didn't hear about it until just before the community board meeting."

Multiple people expressed frustration during Tuesday's meeting that there hadn't been more conversation around the incoming safe haven, and while CB7 committee chair Shelly Fine said repeatedly that the topic of a safe haven in the neighborhood had been a board priority for three years and received extended discussion — he never stated that the specific address had ever been discussed during a public meeting.

While there was some frustration, there was also many voices of support for the safe haven from Upper West Side community board members and members of the public.

Brewer mentioned that Breaking Ground operates "successful safe havens" in the East Village, Union Square, Boerum Hill, and Williamsburg. She added a reminder that the 106-108 W. 83rd St. building most recently served as a 130-bed Skyway Men's Shelter from 2012 to 2021.

A safe haven is a form of "low-barrier transitional housing for people living unsheltered on the streets who have shown reluctance to utilize the shelter system," Breaking Ground members explained during a presentation to Community Board 7's Health & Human Services Committee.

Safe havens don't have the same requirements as homeless shelters for residents to leave during the day, and generally come with more robust available programming.

The incoming Upper West Side safe haven will serve all genders, with residents getting directly referred by outreach teams who will walk and monitor the surrounding Upper West Side-area to build a rapport with people living on the streets.

"People in safe havens are generally older and pretty low-key, they’re glad to be off the streets, they’re glad to have a bathroom," Brewer said during Tuesday's community board meeting. “With a really active community group, this can be successful, but that has to be part of what we’re doing.”

You can read more about the safe haven, the community board meeting, and reactions from the public, here: 108-Bed 'Safe Haven' For Homeless Will Open On The Upper West Side