There’s no shelter – for now.
The city’s controversial plan to relocate hundreds of homeless men into the East Village was temporarily halted by a state judge Wednesday after concerned residents sued Mayor Zohran Mamdani to stop it.
The order issued by Manhattan Judge Sabrina Kraus likely will stop the city from opening the intake shelter along Third Street on May 1 as planned.
Workers unloading materials at a men’s shelter in the East Village. Helayne Seidman for the NY PostKraus agreed to set a May 7 date for city officials and the East Villagers to appear in court to hash out their disagreements.
“This is an important start, and we appreciate the judge’s fast action on this crucially important matter,” said Trisha Goff, a longtime neighborhood resident and a member of the coalition suing the city.
“Now there’s time for due process, to listen to the community, and to find a far better solution to this challenging problem,” Goff said in a statement.
The center, and another along the Bowery, would have effectively replaced the notorious Bellevue homeless shelter that the Mamdani administration plans to close by the end of the month.
But the group of East Village residents calling themselves VOICE – Village Organization for the Integrity of Community Engagement – sued to halt the opening, contending city officials rushed through the process.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he planned to shut down the Bellevue men’s shelter. Matthew McDermott for NY PostMamdani underhandedly declared an “emergency” to close the 250-person Bellevue shelter, the lawsuit argues.
Officials also ignored their own laws and codes, such as planning to put hundreds of people in an East Village building with strict occupancy limits, according to the lawsuit.
“This case is not about the City’s decision to close the Bellevue Intake Shelter,” the Manhattan Supreme Court filing states.
“It challenges only the City’s hastily made and legally invalid decision to [locate] a new citywide homeless adult male intake center at 8 East 3rd Street without following any of the legal requirements that must precede such a significant and consequential decision.”
Mamdani’s plan to relocate homeless men into the East Village is on hold. Paul Martinka for NY PostAttorney Steven A. Engel, representing VOICE, cheered the judge’s temporary restraining order.
“We are pleased that the Court recognized that a full hearing was needed before the City makes such a consequential decision as opening a citywide homeless adult male intake center on a crowded residential street in the East Village,” he said.
“We look forward to proving that the City’s decision was not just rushed, but illegal.”
The city Law Department referred The Post to City Hall, which said it would continue operating the 30th Street/Bellevue intake center pending the next hearing in the suit.
“The conditions at the 30th St/Bellevue Intake Shelter have been unacceptable for years,” a Mamdani spokesperson said in a statement.
“We look forward to addressing the immediate need to relocate shelter intake with the Court on May 7, and in the interim, we will continue to operate intake out of 30th st/Bellevue.”
VOICE’s suit also cited criticism for the shelter plan from advocates with the Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless.
But those advocates – while reiterating concerns over accessibility at the East Village space – issued a statement Wednesday lambasting the locals’ lawsuit.
“The site at 8 East 3rd St. has long served as a shelter and previously functioned as a men’s intake center, making its current use consistent with its history,” the statement reads.
“Opposition from some neighbors lacks a good-faith basis and appears to be little more than NIMBYism, given both that history and the urgent need for a functioning, legally compliant shelter intake facility.”
— Additional reporting by Peter Senzamici






