Homeless shelter planned near Carnegie Hall in Midtown
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is looking to open a homeless shelter in Midtown Manhattan.
The mayor, who actually wants to open 90 shelters across the five boroughs, is raising eyebrows with the plan to open a facility around the corner from some the Big Apple's most well-known landmarks.
Shelters and their locations are always a hot button issue, but the shelter for men could open as soon as next month in the vicinity of Carnegie Hall, Central Park and a Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
The 150-bed long-term shelter would be housed in what is now the Park Savoy Hotel on West 58th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
The city is struggling to deal with the rise in the number of homeless, and de Blasio says he hopes to open 90 shelters in "every kind of neighborhood" throughout the city. He says every neighborhood needs to make sure the city has enough shelters.
"If you go all over New York City and ask people the simple question, 'Would you like to see a homeless shelter here in the neighborhood?' the answer will be pretty much no across the board," he said. "We have the authority to open these facilities where we deem appropriate. We do give the notification. That's an opportunity for community concerns to be raised."
De Blasio said neighbors have been formally notified of the new shelter near Carnegie Hall, adding that communities will be made aware as they lock down locations for others.
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