Mamdani Administration to Shutter City’s Largest Homeless Shelter
By Mark Hallum March 5, 2026 4:06 pm
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is winding down operations at one of New York City’s oldest and largest homeless shelters in Manhattan’s Kips Bay neighborhood.
The Mamdani administration announced Thursday that it will relocate 250 residents of the 30th Street Shelter at 400 East 30th Street by the middle of March, citing unsafe living conditions and neglect carried over from the previous administration.
Some of those conditions include asbestos and serious fire safety violations, as reported by The City. The shelter has been the main intake center for New York’s growing homeless population since the 1980s.
While the building, also known as Bellevue, currently poses no immediate danger to residents — which are primarily single men — the structure from 1931 is in such a state of disrepair that Mamdani ordered the facility to close.
The administration did not immediately disclose what is in store for the property, or whether it will be sold or redeveloped under a public-private partnership.
“We cannot accept a system that treats people without dignity or stability,” Mamdani said in a statement. “As we move forward, our city will double down on protecting the safety, continuity and quality of services — because every New Yorker deserves a secure place to rest, to recover and to rebuild their life with dignity.”
Shelter intake by Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Homeless Services (DHS) staff will be diverted to other facilities under the city’s umbrella. Adult men from 30th Street Shelter will move to a facility at 8 East Third Street to enter the shelter system, while adult families and families without any minor children will move to 333 Bowery Street, effective May 1.
The city will maintain a presence at the site for at least a year, according to the administration, to redirect people seeking social services to new locations and launch a region-wide communications campaign to inform people of the change. Meanwhile, Mamdani said he is committed to opening several new “high-quality” shelters.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
