Hundreds of Canarsie parents and neighbors protested at Science and Medicine Middle School this week to fight back against a proposed men's homeless shelter they say is being planned just a five-minute walk from the school's front doors. The 200-bed facility at 913 East 108th Street is still pending approval, but families aren't waiting to make their objections known.
According to PIX11, city records show a proposed five-year contract with an operator called Midway Living to run the shelter, carrying a price tag of $61.5 million. The outlet reports the shelter is slated to open pending approval.
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse said she has demanded answers about the property for over a year, according to the same report, as questions continue about what's planned for the East 108th Street address. The city's Department of Homeless Services has described a public process for siting new shelters that includes notifying community boards and elected officials and gathering community engagement, per the station's reporting — though it remains unclear whether that process has fully played out for this particular proposal.
Part of a Larger Citywide Shift
The Canarsie proposal isn't an isolated move. The station's report notes that DSS plans to open 12 shelters while phasing out hotels currently used to house families, with the new facilities expected to open across the five boroughs between 2027 and 2030 if approved. That broader push appears to be fueling friction in multiple neighborhoods at once, not just Canarsie.
In Richmond Hill, Queens, elected officials, Community Board 9 members and local residents similarly turned out to oppose a planned shelter for single men, calling for a more appropriate location, according to QNS. That proposed facility, on Jamaica Avenue near Lefferts Boulevard, would house up to 127 individuals and would be the first Department of Homeless Services shelter in Council District 27. QNS reported that Council Member Lynn Schulman, Assemblymember David Weprin and state Senator Joseph Addabbo joined the demonstration on June 19.
How Other Boroughs' Fights Played Out
DSS told QNS that the local community was notified in early 2026 that the Richmond Hill center would open in mid-2027, and that all shelters and facilities have security personnel on-site around the clock. The planned Richmond Hill shelter would be operated by nonprofit VIP Community Services, offering on-site case management, individual and group counseling, and permanency planning, per that outlet's reporting.
A similar standoff unfolded over a proposed family shelter at the former Brooklyn College dorm at 1 Kenilworth Place, where a group of Flatbush-area elected officials pushed back on the city's plans, according to Bklyner. That proposal would have housed 107 families with children under operator CAMBA, with DSS having notified Brooklyn Community Board 14 of the plan in late December and hoping to open the facility in late 2022. Three local elected officials argued the district's most immediate needs were affordable housing for CUNY students and seniors along with supportive services, not another shelter, though DSS said it would prioritize placing people from that community board's own area at the site.
Back in Canarsie, the core questions for families remain unanswered: whether the shelter proposal or its $61.5 million contract will ultimately win approval, and what that would mean for a block sitting just minutes from a middle school. For now, the fight that drew hundreds into a school gym this week shows no sign of cooling off.
