The city wants to turn an empty 6,000-square-foot building in Gravesend, Brooklyn into a homeless shelter.

The facility at 86th Street and 25th Avenue would be the first homeless shelter in the district — a cluster of neighborhoods overseen by the same community board. The shelter could house up to 150 single adult men.

“These people would be a detriment to themselves and to the community,” Vinny LaPorte, a lifelong Gravesend resident, said. "The people here, they want education for their children, they want a safe environment. That’s what the city’s saying. We’re an example of a safe environment, so help us."

Opponents of the plan are worried that the shelter could house people struggling with mental health issues.

“The way homeless shelters are ran, it’s not good for the city financially. It’s not good for the clients, the people who are sleeping in the homeless shelter and it’s definitely not good for the community,” Raphael Schweizer, who has been homeless and has lived in the shelter system, said. He says the way the city addresses homelessness needs to change.

“There isn’t enough segregation of people who have mental and substance abuse issues and people who don’t. Those two populations should not be in the same shelter,” Schweizer added.

The city comptroller says roughly 120,000 people are living in the city’s shelters and emergency shelters. A little more than half of them are migrants.

A recent report by the comptroller's office found some communities have 100 times more shelter beds per capita than others, while four community districts have no shelters at all. District 11, where the planned 86th Street shelter is located, is one of those four.

City Councilmember Susan Zhuang says this isn’t a case of “not in my backyard.”

“This neighborhood is full of immigrants. We want to help, we want to support. But the city should give us a chance to say what’s the best plan for the neighborhood and also the people who are homeless,” Zhuang said.

A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams’ administration says residents were notified last November about plans to open the shelter in late 2024. They also said the Bronx-based not-for-profit VIP Community Services, which will run the facility, will work closely with shelter residents to help them stabilize their lives and move into permanent housing.

To address safety concerns, the city says there will be a minimum of seven security guards per shift, a 24-hour open line for the community to provide feedback and a total of 74 security cameras installed throughout the building and shelter grounds.