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Midtown hub for homeless New Yorkers to eat, rest could close after city ends contract
By
Karen Yi
Published May 20, 2024
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Photo by Karen Yi
By
Karen Yi
Published May 20, 2024
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A 35-year program offering homeless New Yorkers a place to rest or eat for the night is likely shutting down this summer when the city plans to end its contract with the Midtown service provider, eliminating its main funding source.
The looming closure of the MainChance drop-in center is catching the attention of local elected leaders who are urging Mayor Eric Adams to allow the space to remain open. Staff at MainChance, meanwhile, say they provide a vital alternative to congregate shelters and a crucial service as the number of homeless New Yorkers rises, driven by an increase in new arrivals filling up shelter beds.
“You're talking about a population that has nowhere to go,” Brady Crain, executive director of MainChance said. “They can't stay with family. They can't stay with friends. They can't stay with family or friends for an hour. So we take them in and we communicate and as corny as it may sound, show them a different way.”
The Department of Homeless Services didn’t answer questions about why it is terminating its contract with MainChance on June 30, but said it was the only planned closure of a drop-in center in the city.
“This administration has made unprecedented investments in the expansion of dedicated resources for New Yorkers experiencing unsheltered homelessness,” DHS spokesperson Neha Sharma said in a statement.
Sharma said the Adams administration has opened new drop-in centers in Manhattan and bolstered the number of low-barrier beds that are easier to access than traditional shelter beds. That investment, she said, had so far helped 1,000 New Yorkers move into permanent housing in the last year.
Crain said he wasn’t sure why MainChance was singled out for closure, given they serve about 70 people a night and 300 people a day with three hot meals, along with 75 families who rely on the food pantry. The building, situated between a boutique hotel and a Korean Cultural Center, has placed about 300 people into permanent housing during the pandemic, and this fiscal year it's already helped more than 25,000 people access services, according to numbers provided by the organization.
The four-story building that operates as a drop-in center for homeless New Yorkers to rest, eat or take a shower could close down June 30. The service has been located in the Midtown building since 2005. Monday, May 13, 2024
photo by Karen Yi
Budget documents show the closure of the drop-in center would save the city $3.7 million next fiscal year.
“We can't figure out why the administration would want to cut a lifeline to so many vulnerable New Yorkers,” City Councilmember Carlina Rivera said.”They're really holistic in their approach. It's medical attention, it's showers, it's employment counseling — they provide referrals, in-house banking.”
Rivera, along with Rep. Jerry Nadler, Borough President Mark Levine and state lawmakers wrote a letter to DHS and Adams in April warning MainChance’s closure would leave their clients “stranded without the services they have come to rely on, and destabilize their path to permanent housing.”
City officials said there’s another drop-in center and Safe Haven site in the council district and another three "low-barrier" bed locations nearby.
Jermaine Burton, 33, said he was able to get a rental housing voucher after working with the staff at MainChance.
“The staff, they’re very professional, they’ll help you as much as you can, anything you need. If this place wasn’t here, I probably wouldn’t be getting help,” he said.
The four-story building is down the block from a CitiBank and the bustling crowds in Midtown, a painted sign near the door reads, “unlike anything in the middle of everything.”
MainChance’s Deputy Executive Director Jackie Connor said they’re a small program but located right by the Port Authority bus terminal, Grand Central Terminal, near a large men’s shelter and have become a mainstay in the community, getting referrals from the United Nations, police, churches and other local businesses.
“You could just come into the building. I need a place. I need food. I need a shower. Well, come on in,” Connor said. Drop-in centers don’t have beds but do provide chairs for people to come in overnight. “It's like one-stop shopping. Sometimes they just need some place to stay and say, 'Hey, I want to go back home.' Okay, we can work with you to get back home. Let us just talk to the relatives, boom.”
She said others need a place to stay for a week while they bounce between homes, or lose their way and need a safe place for the night — others stay longer and need case management.
Dominick Delaurentis, 34, now has his own apartment after working with MainChance for about a year.
“They went above and beyond, not just for me,” he said. “I don't normally get treated so nicely by people who are bureaucrats and stuff like that.”
He still keeps in touch with staff occasionally and recently they helped him sign up for a program to lower his utility bill.
Tagged
new york city
housing
manhattan
economy
Politics
eric adams
Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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