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Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday his plans to build a homeless shelter in possibly the wealthiest area of New York City.
The New York City Department of Homeless Services will convert the former Park Savoy hotel at 158 West 58th St., a block north of Billionaire's Row, into a homeless shelter for 150 residents, the New York Post reports. The shelter will be ready in March.
The building's rear is adjacent to One57, by some measures the most expensive condo tower in the city on the drag of 57th Street and Central Park South, with residences so expensive that they have gained the moniker Billionaire's Row. Faced with the prospect of the city's less fortunate being new neighbors, several residents expressed shock and anger to the Post.
“[I'm] concerned for our guests going out in that area — we have an exit and entrance there for guests and condo owners,” One57 Director of Security Rich Montilla told the Post. “I don’t know if these gentlemen are violent, I don’t know what to expect."
Westhab, which manages shelters and affordable housing in the city and Westchester County, will oversee the building, which will reportedly have two security guards and 56 security cameras.
The Park Savoy shelter is part of the Turning the Tides on Homelessness campaign de Blasio rolled out last year, which calls for 90 new shelters across the five boroughs "in every kind of neighborhood," de Blasio said in a press conference.
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