NYC’s Plan to Relocate 110 Single Homeless Men to Peaceful Brooklyn Area Raises Resident Concerns: Report

A recent decision by New York City authorities to relocate 110 single homeless men to a shelter in Brooklyn without performing criminal background checks has sparked significant concern among local residents. The community fears that this move could lead to increased crime in their peaceful neighborhood.

The former Gold Star Inn, located in Sheepshead Bay, has served as a shelter for families for about a year. However, next week it is scheduled to transition to accommodating single adult men. This change follows the decision by the city’s Department of Homeless Services to move the 55 families currently residing there elsewhere, according to a report from the New York Post.

Residents in the vicinity, who have already noticed a rise in crime since the shelter’s original opening, expressed their concerns to the Post. Many worry that the switch to housing single men will further aggravate the situation.

“People are breaking into cars, vandalizing the park, and engaging in inappropriate behavior there,” said Fahad, a 30-year-old plumber from the nearby Brighton Beach area. “It used to be extremely quiet.”

According to NYPD data, shooting incidents in the 61st Precinct, which includes Sheepshead Bay, have risen to 5 so far this year, a 400% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Reports of rape have doubled from eight to 16, while retail theft has risen 10%.

Overall crime in the area dropped about 7% so far this year compared to the same period in 2025, according to the NYPD data.

Residents have also expressed concern that city officials will not conduct criminal background checks on incoming shelter residents.

“The Department of Homeless Services confirmed that no criminal background vetting will take place, leaving room for potential sex offenders and convicted felons to come in contact with our children,” Republican City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov wrote in a letter to the city’s Department of Social Services (DSS) last week.

Vernikov argued the conversion would be “devastating” for the surrounding community, citing concerns about loitering, drug activity and crime near the shelter, which sits across the street from Lew Fidler Park, a popular neighborhood playground.

Ginny, a resident who declined to give her last name, told the Post that “not checking the background is not very diligent of the city.”

“How can [they] say they are protecting children when they allow that? There are also elderly people who can be targets,” she said.

Another neighbor, Olga Adynets, said someone recently released from prison is already staying at the shelter.

“I don’t want it to get worse. I’m worried,” she said.

The shelter is operated by BHRAGS, a nonprofit that has faced federal scrutiny after its former executive director Roberto Samedy and former board chairman Jean Ronald Tirelus were indicted earlier this year on charges including wire fraud, embezzlement and accepting illicit payments.

Despite the investigation, Mayor Zohran Mamdani awarded the organization nearly $200 million in new city contracts in June, according to the Post.

City officials told the outlet the shelter conversion reflects changing demand, with fewer families entering the shelter system and more single adult men requiring housing. Officials also said BHRAGS is under new leadership after the city reduced the nonprofit’s shelter portfolio.

“The agency continues to address the prevalent stigma against single adult men experiencing homelessness,” a DSS spokesperson told The Post. “The agency also implements good neighbor policies while maintaining open lines of communication with the community to address any concerns as they arise.”

News Media has reached out to the mayor’s office and DSS for comment.