Judge Blocks Movement of Homeless Intake Center to East 3rd Street

A city plan to shutter the “Bellevue” homeless shelter and move its services to the East Village has been temporarily paused by a judge, with another court date set for May 7. The longstanding shelter at 400 E. 30th St., which houses 200 people, was originally slated to close on May 1.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani says that the closure of the building, which currently serves as the NYC shelter system’s intake location for adult men and adult couples without children, is necessary for the safety of its residents—citing experts who have determined that the building is in irreparable physical shape.

The city therefore wants a 175-bed shelter that currently exists at 8 E. 3rd St. to assume intake responsibilities for single men, while family intake would move to a shelter at 333 Bowery.

Justice Sabrina Kraus issued the order on April 22, after a lawsuit opposing the shelter was brought by a group named the Village Organization for the Integrity of Community Engagement (V.O.I.C.E.), which consists of seven local residents who live on either E. 3rd St. or on the Bowery.

“This neighborhood has already had to take on more than its fair share of homeless housing,” lawyers for the plaintiffs alleged. “But without suitable process, the City plans to compel it to take on the enormous burdens of the homeless intake center for single adult males.”

The residents who filed the suit argue that the movement of shelter services does not comply with any one of a variety of city regulations, ranging from the land use review process known as ULURP to a city charter provision.

Jason Murillo, the Republican/Conservative candidate for the New York State Senate seat that will be vacated at year end by Brian Kavanagh, has been among those campaigning against the city’s move; he’s focused on numerous violations from the Department of Buildings at both the East Third Street and Bowery shelters.

“At 8 E. 3rd St., there are 81 open violations, including multiple Class 1 violations dating back to 2022 and earlier,” Murillo said. “These are not minor infractions—they represent conditions that pose an immediate threat to health and safety.”

He said 333 Bowery has 43 open building code violations, many also classified as Class 1 violations, which means “immediately hazardous.”

“Alarmingly, there is an open Class 1 violation for a gas leak dating back to 2018 that has still not been corrected,” he said. “Given the severity and duration of these violations, it is unacceptable and unsafe to place even one additional individual into these buildings until all immediately hazardous conditions are fully resolved.”

The mayor is utilizing something called Executive Law 24 to support the planned shuttering of the E. 30th St. shelter and the movement of its services.

In reaction to the judge’s order, a spokesperson for the mayor told the press that “leaving people in a space that is falling apart is a failure of our responsibility to care for our fellow New Yorkers.”

Meanwhile, two prominent nonprofit groups that work with the city’s homeless population—The Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless—criticized V.O.I.C.E.’s lawsuit in a joint statement of their own, although they simultaneously expressed different concerns about the mayor’s plans.

“Opposition from some neighbors lacks a good-faith basis and appears to be little more than NIMBYism, given both that history and the urgent need for a functioning, legally compliant shelter intake facility,” they wrote.

“At the same time, we have serious concerns about the building’s accessibility and the City’s ability to comply with the Butler settlement, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and other disability protections, particularly given the accelerated timeline,” the organizations added.

The E. 30th St. shelter used to house Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric wing, and is still located just down First Avenue from the hospital’s current campus. It has no genuine affiliation with the hospital anymore, although many people—including the plaintiffs in the new lawsuit—still call it the “Bellevue Shelter.”

The shelter at 8 E. 3rd St., meanwhile, now serves as a 175-bed transitional residential housing facility operated by Project Renewal. “Third Street helps 175 individuals with substance use histories work towards health, sobriety, and, ultimately, permanent housing and employment,” the website for the shelter notes.