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New York City is set to move 110 single homeless men into a Brooklyn shelter without conducting criminal background checks, according to a new report, sparking outrage among residents who fear the change will bring more crime to their quiet neighborhood.
The former Gold Star Inn in Sheepshead Bay, which has operated as a family shelter for roughly a year, is expected to begin housing single adult men as early as next week after the city’s Department of Homeless Services decided to relocate the 55 families currently living there, the New York Post first reported.
The move has alarmed nearby residents, who told the Post they have already seen an uptick in crime since the shelter opened and worry the transition to housing single men will exacerbate those problems.
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A person sleeps on a sidewalk January 26, 2026 in the Manhattan borough of New York City. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
“People are breaking into cars, people are destroying the park, taking 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, shooting incidents in the 61st Precinct, which includes Sheepshead Bay, have risen to 5 so far this year, a 400% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Reports of rape have doubled from eight to 16, while retail theft has risen 10%.
Overall crime in the area dropped about 7% so far this year compared to the same period in 2025, according to the NYPD data.
Residents have also expressed concern that city officials will not conduct criminal background checks on incoming shelter residents.
A man with his belongings in shopping carts sits along a street near a shelter for the homeless in New York, the United States, on Nov. 21, 2025. (Zhang Fengguo/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“The Department of Homeless Services confirmed that no criminal background vetting will take place, leaving room for potential sex offenders and convicted felons to come in contact with our children,” Republican City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov wrote in a letter to the city’s Department of Social Services (DSS) last week.
Vernikov argued the conversion would be “devastating” for the surrounding community, citing concerns about loitering, drug activity and crime near the shelter, which sits across the street 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 “not checking the background is not very diligent of the city.”
“How can [they] say they are protecting children when they allow that? There are also elderly people who can be targets,” she said.
Another neighbor, Olga Adynets, said someone recently released from prison is already staying at the shelter.
“I don’t want it to get worse. I’m worried,” she said.
The shelter is operated by BHRAGS, a nonprofit that has faced federal scrutiny after its former executive director Roberto Samedy and former board chairman Jean Ronald Tirelus were indicted earlier this year on charges including wire fraud, embezzlement and accepting illicit 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 in new city contracts in June, according to the Post.
City officials told the outlet the shelter conversion reflects changing demand, with fewer families entering the shelter system and more single adult men requiring 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 prevalent stigma against single adult men experiencing homelessness,” a DSS spokesperson told The Post. “The agency also implements good neighbor policies while maintaining open lines of communication with the community to address any concerns as they arise.”
Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office and DSS for comment.
