AN EAST VILLAGE & NOHO COALITION
V.O.I.C.E. — Village Organization for the Integrity of Community Engagement — welcomes and supports homeless New Yorkers having access to safe, dignified shelter in our neighborhood. However, we oppose the illegal citywide intake hub being forced on our neighborhood without transparency, planning, or community input.
LATEST VICTORY
May 2026
A Manhattan judge has granted our request for discovery — ruling in our favor directly on the papers, without even requiring a hearing. The City has been ordered to turn over internal funding records, construction permits, and compliance documents by May 22, 2026. Our next court date is May 28, 2026. The fight continues — and we are winning.
THE ISSUE
Intentionally ignoring mandatory legal reviews and community input.
People coming and going at all hours via emergency executive order — a constant flow of people.
COMMUNITY VOICES
“I’ve been a store owner in the East Village for over 25 years. My shop is currently next door to what was, until recently, a men’s shelter. We were used to the shelter traffic and the men who lived there. We knew many of them by name. I’m concerned about an intake center in the neighborhood because we don’t have the ability to handle the volume of people that will be waiting for services on our streets, many of whom will be suffering. Placing the 5-borough men’s intake center at 8 East 3rd Street puts my business, my livelihood at significant risk.”
Oliver Harkness
Small business owner
“Since the 1800s, the Bowery community has provided food, shelter, clothing and rehabilitation services to millions. It has and will continue to provide shelters and assistance at the Bowery Mission, Project Renewal, the Catholic Worker Men’s Shelter, the Catholic Worker Women’s Shelter and the Bowery Residents Association, just to name a few. Given the magnitude of the challenges these facilities already present to our community, the city’s ill-conceived plan to burden us with an even greater mass of responsibility, fear and disruption is reckless and very reprehensible.”
David Mulkins
Bowery Alliance of Neighbors
“Fifth Streeters are well aware of the environment that can be created with even a small population of people who don’t respect the neighborhood and residents. The regular congregation on 2nd Avenue between 4th–5th has been problematic on a continuing basis. Our neighborhood already has one of NYC’s most dense concentrations of homeless and rehabilitation centers; the prospect of these new intake operations has caused alarm.”
Stuart Zarsky
President, East Fifth Street Block Association
“This is not a shelter — it is an intake center for all homeless men from around the city. And that is a very, very different thing… I wish the administration would seek public input, follow all the proper legal steps required, and try harder to find the right locations for homeless adult male intake services that fits the surrounding community and best serves this vulnerable population.”
Niki Donohue
Volunteer social worker and local resident
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction so that there can be due diligence, as there should have been from the get-go.”
Trisha Goff
President, East 3rd St Association
“The concentration of troubled populations, whether it be Rikers or the Bowery, is a prescription for disaster and poor outcomes for the very people being served.”
John Ruha
Local business owner
“We support services for vulnerable New Yorkers — that is not the issue. The issues are transparency and planning. Where is the environmental review? Where is the public safety plan?”
Jason Murillo
Community advocate, candidate for State Senate District 27
OUR DEMANDS
Move the high-volume intake center to a location designed for hundreds of people daily — not a dense residential block with schools, restaurants, and families
Conduct a full environmental and public safety review before any shelter relocation
Listen to the people and representatives of the homeless to understand the impact of decision making before actual decisions are made
Ensure any intake site is fully ADA accessible, per existing court settlement requirements
TAKE ACTION
STEP 1
Add your name on Change.org alongside thousands of neighbors demanding due diligence — not emergency orders.
STEP 2
Legal battles cost money. Help fund our community’s fight on Givebutter.
STEP 3
Share this page with five neighbors. The City is counting on silence. Don’t give it to them.
STAY UPDATED
Next court date: May 28, 2026. Enter your details to receive updates by email and text as the case develops.
PRESS COVERAGE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS · MAY 3, 2026
THE NEW YORK TIMES · APRIL 22, 2026
GOTHAMIST · APRIL 19, 2026
NY POST · APRIL 12, 2026
OUR TOWN NY · APRIL 13, 2026
CONTACT
Have questions, want to get involved, or represent the press? Reach out directly.