Homeowners in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn are pushing back against a lawsuit they face for preventing developers from accessing property to build a controversial homeless shelter, claiming they were misled about the project's purpose.

The shelter at 2134 Coyle St., to be built by Westhab, is slated to house 169 homeless families with children. However, residents and local leaders say the rezoned site, approved in 2021, was originally pitched as a building that would include affordable housing.

"We voted for affordable housing and now we're getting a shelter," City Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse said. "And now you tell me, believe in you, trust you, that you're going to get it to be a family shelter. How do I know what you're going to do?"

"People were tricked"

Assemblyman Michael Novakhov echoed Narcisse's concerns, saying "people were tricked already and it went from affordable housing to homeless shelter for families. Then it could become a homeless shelter for single men."

Opponents have been protesting the development for nearly six months, with some camping out across the street from the site. They say the process involved minimal community input.

Dr. Henry Zhu, spokesperson for the newly formed group Save South Brooklyn, said 11 households adjacent to the site are facing legal action from Westhab for refusing to let crews access their property during construction.

"There's an appropriate way to go about which area should you put a homeless shelter in. Would it even benefit the community? But I think this has been the absolute worst way, to be honest," Zhu said.

"Nobody wants this in their backyards"

Neighbors say they signed an agreement years ago with the site's previous developers to allow construction of a "mixed-use building," not knowing it would later become a shelter. On Monday, homeowners met with a bipartisan coalition of elected officials to ask for help in their fight.

"We don't want developers to be strong-arming you guys," Zhu said. "You guys just want to live the American dream. You guys want to just live your life, go to work. But these developers are trying to harass them."

State Sen. Stephen Chan compared the city's handling of the situation to "being a used car salesman. You know, the neighbors thought they're buying one thing and they're getting something else... Nobody wants this in their backyards."

Westhab and NYC respond

In a statement, Westhab said it worked with the city to notify the community about the shelter plan in 2023, adding, "We've followed all required city procedures. The previous plan was for market-rate development with some affordable units. We have been transparent about our plans from the moment we got involved."

This spring, the shelter site's owner received an injunction which bars protesters from blocking access to the site.

NYC's Department of Homeless Services says the decision to alter plans for the site was made by the private owner.

A spokesperson sent a statement that reads, in part, "In order to effectively address this citywide crisis it is essential that every community contains resources to support our neighbors in need. The Adams administration remains committed to helping vulnerable New Yorkers get connected to not only temporary housing, but stable, permanent housing."

Assemblymember Lester Chang suggested an alternate solution.

"Right now, lot of migrant shelters are being shut down. So why not just repurpose them right away?" Chang said.

Two households involved in the dispute are expected back in court on Sept. 3. Neighbors say they will continue fighting until they get the housing plan they were promised.

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