TURTLE BAY — The city has made sweeping security changes at a women's shelter where cops shot and killed a knife-wielding resident in October — pleasing neighbors who have long complained that the center was a magnet for trouble.
Since the incident, the New Providence Shelter has stepped up security at its 130-bed shelter that houses women suffering from mental illness and drug addiction.
It's added walk-through metal detectors, increased the number of cameras, and beefed up training for guards, among other changes, according to the city's Department of Homeless Services.
DHS has also strengthened ties with police at the 17th precinct, which recently joined forces with the agency to conduct a raid to oust shelter residents who were wanted on outstanding warrants, officials said.
The changes are a welcome announcement for many in the area, who expressed concern for years about criminal activity at and around the shelter on East 45th Street between Second and Third avenues.
"At the moment, everybody is ecstatic," said Kathy Thompson, a realtor and member of the East Side Community Alliance, a neighborhood organization that has been battling for improved conditions around the New Providence shelter since 2008.
"Our job has gone from being agitators to monitors now, so to speak," she added, "It is a good thing. That’s the way it should be."
Thompson, who said she and other residents were inspired to form the East Side Community Alliance because of concerns about problems stemming from the shelter, said the recent changes have largely put an end to the aggressive panhandling and prostitution that were once commonplace near the shelter.
She recalled having bags ripped from her hands and watching people relieve themselves in the streets.
Two parks — Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and a small public space on the corner of East 46th Street and Second Avenue — had become problem hot spots, with activities including prostitution and drug use rampant, she said.
One bench in the Katharine Hepburn garden in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza became a particular source of angst for locals, who claimed shelter residents were using it to engage in sex and drugs.
DHS spokeswoman Heather Janik said police and DHS officials have paid additional attention to security issues, implementing increased training for security personnel and installing additional cameras in and around the facility.
The security team at the shelter has also worked more closely with guards at surrounding buildings, as well as with the 17th Precinct, which cooperated with the shelter to search for women wanted on outstanding warrants, and evidence of drugs or weapons.
Details about the number of women removed from the shelter during the raid, and the nature of their warrants, were not immediately available. But police said there would be more raids if the Department of Homeless Services and local law enforcement deemed it necessary.
Community members say they have been pleased to have been included in meetings with representatives from the city’s Department of Homeless Services and from Project Renewal, the organization that runs the shelter.
Bruce Silberblatt, a vice president of the Turtle Bay Association, said he has attended the last two meetings and agreed that the city has been responsive and that progress at the shelter has been positive.
But he emphasized the importance of monitoring that progress, and maintaining it.
"We want to make sure that they keep up with the promises, and that means we do mean to watch," Silberblatt said. "Fortunately, there haven’t been any violent things that have gone on here."
The problems were generally seasonal, neighbors agreed, and they remained wary that warmer weather could bring a return of bad behavior.
City Councilman Daniel Garodnick, who has been working with residents since the shooting, cautioned against becoming "complacent" about the safety of shelter residents or the neighborhood as a whole.
"There has been some progress," he said.
"[But] we want to make sure that this continues to be a high priority for Project Renewal and that they are looking after the safety of not just the area in front of the building but also the broader neighborhood as well."
