Bay Ridge, Brooklyn currently has zero DHS shelter beds, despite having an average of one-hundred and eleven neighbors who are part of the shelter system at any given time. It is time for Bay Ridge to do its fair share and provide for the homeless in our city.

This petition supports a plan to build two shelters to accommodate all of our neighbors.

A family shelter for at least 70 people, or twenty-two families, should be built within a 10-minute walking distance of PS 170, which has an 11% rate of students experiencing housing instability. Over 30% of families are made homeless in our Community District because of Domestic Violence. So, the facility should prefer accepting families who are fleeing domestic violence, or are seeking to escape from illegal housing situations.

A single adults shelter for at least 50 people, to operate as a Safe Haven. As a small Safe Haven, it should operate in parallel with local outreach efforts and help get chronically unsheltered individuals off the streets and on the path toward permanent housing. It should be located close to public transit, ideally within close range of the 95th Street R Train stop. It should contain a staffed public shower and bathroom facility.

We are residents of Bay Ridge who believe in doing our fair share to help our unhoused neighbors.

Learn more and listen to the whole proposal at RadioFreeBayRidge.org