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Bronx Homeless Shelter Faces Closure as City Fails to Make a Single Payment

By Eddie Small | September 14, 2015 7:44am
 DHS has not paid BronxWorks for operating its shelter at 470 E. 161st St since it opened in January, sources said.
DHS has not paid BronxWorks for operating its shelter at 470 E. 161st St since it opened in January, sources said.
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DNAinfo/Eddie Small

MELROSE — A controversial South Bronx homeless shelter may be forced to close because the Department of Homeless Services has not paid the operator since it opened in January, DNAinfo New York has learned.

Pyramid Safe Haven, located in a former YMCA at 470 E. 161st St. and operated by BronxWorks, opened its doors to the homeless this winter in response to the city's frigid temperatures.

Since then, BronxWorks has received no money from DHS for running the shelter since its contract still has not been registered with the city, sources said.

Although DHS began using the site in January, the comptroller's office said it wasn't sent a contract for funding until June 12, and it was then rejected on July 9 because DHS did not provide enough documents, such as a copy of the budget and proof of site control.

DHS has not resubmitted a contract since this rejection, according to the comptroller's office.

Allison Sesso, executive director of the Human Services Council, which represents thousands of nonprofits in New York and includes BronxWorks as a member, described the situation at Pyramid Safe Haven as "ridiculous" and said the lack of funds puts the shelter at risk of shutting down.

BronxWorks has been unable to pay rent due to its lack of funding from DHS and has been forced into a very difficult position, she said.

"It’s hard to know what to do here because you don’t want to abandon the clients, obviously, but at the same time, you have to protect the integrity of your organization and look at the financial health of it," she said.

The exact amount of money DHS owes BronxWorks for the site was unclear, but one source estimated that it was more than a million dollars.

BronxWorks declined to comment.

The shelter has been a contentious issue in the neighborhood for months, with residents petitioning to move it and critics walking out of a DHS meeting on the future of the shelter in protest.

News of the failure to pay the bill comes as Mayor Bill de Blasio faces withering criticism over his handling of the city's homeless problem.

The city's shelter population has grown to about 56,000 people, up from about 53,000 when Michael Bloomberg left office but down from a high of 59,000 in December, and 311 calls about the homeless have gone up by 60 percent since de Blasio took office.

Sesso characterized the DHS delay in paying BronxWorks as extraordinarily long but said it was typical of city government to not place a high priority on supporting local nonprofits.

"We’re just not that politically important," she said. "They don’t put a lot of effort into us."

DHS said in a statement that the agency was working with BronxWorks to ensure that its providers have the resources they need.