December 20th, 2024
Open Letter From Greenwood Heights Association, Representing Over 800 Residents and Business Owners: An Urgent Call for Transparency and Equity in Shelter Planning at 225 25th Street, Brooklyn
Dear Mayor Adams,
We are writing to you as a community that feels increasingly overlooked and overwhelmed by decisions that directly impact our lives and our neighborhood’s future. While we have been told by DHS management that the proposed shelter at 225 25th Street, Brooklyn, has not been approved, the ongoing frantic renovations at the site—carried out by a developer with a troubling history—have left us deeply concerned and even more disheartened.
David Levitan (Liberty One LLC), the developer involved in this project, has an alarming record of 1,871 open violations across his properties. This includes numerous safety and construction violations, demonstrating a blatant disregard for basic regulatory standards and the livelihood of the people of this beautiful city. Our experience as a community has shown that such developers, coupled with questionable non-profits, often prioritize profit over people, leaving shelter residents and neighborhood communities to deal with the consequences of their negligence. Nevertheless, the city keeps insisting on working with such developers. For instance, according to a recent FOIL request, the city is paying more than $52,000 per day for Levitan’s recently opened 3rd Street shelter in Gowanus–which amounts to over $44 million between 2024 and 2026. Of that, Levitan’s real estate company will collect over $13.5 million in rent alone for a building he purchased for $19.5 million. Additionally, $8.25 million is being allocated just for security, with no transparency about how the money is spent. The city effectively is paying this NGO/developer-combo upwards of $5,000 per person a month. Imagine what that $44 million could do if invested in affordable housing or critical services for our community! These are the types of contracts that developers like Levitan thrive on while our neighborhood continues to suffer.
The lack of accountability surrounding this project—and others like it—only adds to our frustration. Despite assurances that the shelter is “very early in the consideration pipeline,” ongoing construction and the absence of transparency suggest otherwise. Our concerns have been ignored, and decisions made behind closed doors. As residents and business owners, we wonder who is looking out for us, especially when our local representatives seem unwilling to take a clear position for their community.
Our neighborhood, Greenwood Heights, Sunset Park, has consistently shouldered an inequitable share of shelters, with nine within a seven-block radius of the proposed site. This intense clustering violates the City’s Fair Share Criteria and has left us grappling with a strained infrastructure, overwhelmed resources, and mounting safety concerns.
Over 800 residents and business owners have signed our petition demanding action, yet our voices continue to go unheard.
We are not writing to oppose helping those in need. We want well-run, transparent public shelters equitably distributed across all neighborhoods. We cannot accept a system that overburdens already struggling communities while rewarding untrustworthy developers and non-profits.
We turn to you, Mayor Adams, because leadership begins with listening to the people you serve. We request your intervention to restore fairness and trust in this process. Specifically, we urge you to ensure equity and conduct a citywide review of shelter placements to confirm adherence to Fair Share Criteria and halt further clustering in Greenwood Heights. Also, we want you to direct DSS/DHS to engage with our community, hold a town hall meeting to address our concerns, and allow for meaningful public dialogue.
Greenwood Heights is not asking for more than any neighborhood deserves—a voice in decisions shaping our future and a commitment to policies that serve everyone fairly. We ask you to stand with us and show that our community is not alone in this struggle for fairness, accountability, and equity.
Respectfully,
Greenwood Heights Association Representing more than 800 local residents and businesses