Brooklyn shelter to house 110 homeless men without background checks: report
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New York City is preparing to place 110 single homeless men in a shelter in Brooklyn, according to a new report. The change has sparked outrage among residents who fear it will bring more crime to their quiet neighbourhood, according to a new report.
The former Gold Star Inn in Sheepshead Bay, which has been operating as a family shelter for about a year, is expected to begin housing single adult men starting next week after the city’s Department of Homeless Services decided to relocate the 55 families currently living there. New York Post was first reported.
This movement alarmed nearby residents; They, too, told the Post they’ve seen an increase in crime since the shelter opened and worry that the move to housing single men will worsen those problems.
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A person sleeps on the sidewalk in the Manhattan borough of New York City on January 26, 2026. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
“People are breaking into cars, people are vandalizing the park, people are pulling their pants down in the park,” Fahad, a 30-year-old plumber from nearby Brighton Beach, told the outlet. “It used to be very quiet.”
According to NYPD data, shootings in the 61st Precinct, which includes Sheepshead Bay, have risen to 5 so far this year; This is up 400% from the same period in 2025. Rape reports doubled from eight to 16, while retail thefts also increased by 10%.
Overall crime in the area is down about 7% so far this year compared to the same period in 2025, according to NYPD data.
Residents also voiced concerns that city officials would not conduct criminal background checks on shelter residents.
A man with belongings in shopping carts sits on the street near a shelter for homeless people on November 21, 2025 in New York, United States. (Zhang Fengguo/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“The Department of Homeless Services has confirmed that no criminal background checks will be conducted, leaving room for potential sex offenders and convicted felons to contact our children,” Republican City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov wrote in a letter to the city’s Department of Social Services (DSS) last week.
Vernikov argued that the conversion would be “devastating” for the surrounding community, citing concerns about loitering, drug activity and crime near the shelter, which is located across from Lew Fidler Park, a popular neighborhood playground.
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Ginny, a resident who declined to give her last name, told the Post that “it wasn’t very diligent on the part of the city not to check the background.”
“How could [they] Are they saying they are protecting children when they allow this? “There are also elderly people who can be targets,” he said.
Another neighbor, Olga Adynets, said that someone who had recently been released from prison was staying at the shelter.
“I don’t want it to get worse. I’m worried,” he said.
The shelter is operated by BHRAGS, a nonprofit organization that faced federal scrutiny after its former chief executive Roberto Samedy and former board chairman Jean Ronald Tirelus were indicted earlier this year on charges including wire fraud, embezzlement and accepting illegal payments.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is seen speaking during an interview. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Despite the investigation, Mayor Zohran Mamdani awarded the organization nearly $200 million for new city contracts in June, according to the Post.
City officials said the shelter conversion reflects changing demand, with fewer families entering the shelter system and more single adult men needing housing. Officials also said BHRAGS is under new leadership after the city reduced the nonprofit’s shelter portfolio.
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“The agency continues to address the pervasive stigma against single adult males experiencing homelessness,” a DSS spokesperson told The Post. “The agency also enforces good neighbor policies while maintaining open lines of communication with the community to address any concerns that arise.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office and DSS for comment.
