By Mary Alice Miller
Residents say they came seemingly overnight, bringing with them littering, loitering, human waste, loud music at night, harassment of children, and violation of private property. The former location of the Church of God of East Flatbush is now an asylum shelter and reception center.
Councilwoman Darlene Mealy convened a meeting with East 95th Street homeowners and management of the asylum facilities.
R.C. Hugh Nelson, Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Urban Center Ministry, made the case for the asylum shelter.
“Our church has been at that location well over 40 years. We also run the Hope Center. We have fed over a million people right across the street,” said Pastor Nelson. “Our church has a history of investing in the community, adding value to the community. A few years ago, we purchased two city blocks right behind Brownsville Recreation Center. And now, with our partners, we were able to build the new church space and 530 affordable housing units (Ebenezer Plaza on Powell Street). We didn’t go private or market rate, we went affordable housing so that residents in this area who have lived in this space could have the option of getting quality housing through the lottery system.”
Nelson directly addressed the placement of the asylum shelter at the former church location.
“Of course, just like yourselves, when we heard about the crisis with the migrants in NYC, it took all of us by surprise. When we moved to our new location we were contacted by the Mayor’s office to ask if we would be able to assist in the migrant humanitarian crisis,” said Nelson. “This is the only reason we decided that we would provide the space since the space was there. The migrant crisis is a humanitarian crisis. We are a church. The church’s desire was to respond to the humanitarian crisis.”
Nelson added, “A lot of stuff was not done as they should have, but we have a staff that runs the program, and whenever there have been complaints, we try to respond.”
“We wouldn’t be here if it was run properly,” said Mealy. “Outreach from the beginning would have been awesome.”
Shelter Director Rudolph Cox said, “When we open a traditional shelter we have a meeting at the community board and invite everyone in to discuss it. It is the City’s responsibility to have a community board meeting to notify everyone that this is happening. The fact that it wasn’t done is not the church’s fault.”
Homeowners expressed myriad complaints.
One homeowner said she “lived in the neighborhood all my adult life. It is very disappointing and disturbing that every morning I go to work and I see young men, they are hanging out. They have their luggage. It does not look nice,” adding, “I was woken up this morning at four am. Bang, bang, bang. I go to my front window, and I see a couple of the migrants knocking on the door downstairs. Apparently, it was locked. This was 4 am.”
Nelson listened diligently, then responded: “I will say to the staff wherever there is a concern we should respond to it immediately. This is why the parking lot of the church is used. We don’t want the guys in front of the church, surely not in front of the neighbors. The whole idea is we did not want them loitering in front of the homes.”
Yet another homeowner said, “You can’t get out of your driveway because someone is sleeping with a blanket in my driveway at 5 o’clock in the morning. Why was he there? We had to push him out of the driveway.”
Mr. Thomas, a long-time homeowner, said he goes to work at 3:30 in the morning and sees the men playing basketball at that time. “They drink beer and do whatever. They sexually harass young women,” Thomas said. “My grandchildren don’t want to come to my house.”
A community resident said, “My daughter is nine years old. Early in the morning, I walked her to school. We have to pass the church. One of them blows a kiss at my daughter. It stopped me in my tracks. I went into the house and put some grits on the stove. When I came back out, I didn’t see him, and I couldn’t identify him. I knew that he came from that shelter. Are there any laws to make them get background checks to prevent them from being in the area? They do it to American citizens.”
Nelson responded by saying, “In a case like that, if she had notified the staff. The staff is there. The security is there.”
Another homeowner said, “I live right next door. It has been, quite frankly, hell. I felt betrayed by the church. This community has been through a lot for it to finally calm down and to take this on. Black people are the most hospitable people ever. We are constantly helping and nobody is helping us. The church is getting funding. How are they going to support this block?
They are not doing things for free.” she added, “Open up the lines of communication. I was told that the City didn’t want us to have communication because of the crisis. We couldn’t have direct communication with the church.
We contacted a lot of elected officials, trying to figure out who could support us. We have people urinating on my property. Spitting. It is disgusting. You guys moved and put this in. I would have preferred another church to come in. We loved you here.”
The Reception Center began servicing asylum seekers on East 95th Street in December 2023. The reception center is a 24 hour drop in location where migrants can come at any time of day or night for 4 hours, get a meal and rest. In June, a one-year contract commenced for a 15-bed shelter.
Cox said, “There are migrants who do not work within the confines of our space. We give specific instructions on how to be in the community. If and when they violate such, they are given instructions to leave and go to another shelter.”
Cox explained that during the day there are two security guards. In the evening there are four. They patrol the perimeter on an hourly basis. And site managers also do their rounds to make sure that everything is in order.
Despite security assurances, one homeowner said, “We were not prepared for this.”
Mealy added, “We just rebounded from Covid. Some people couldn’t pay their mortgage or light bill. Now to be hit with another issue… If someone wants to sell their home, it could be an issue if they come by to look at it and see so many other things going on.”
Pastor Nelson said, “I appreciate your patience and want to apologize wherever the ball has been dropped. The migrants are not going anywhere, they are going to be right here. Providing them a space we believe that within certain bounds it will help alleviate the situation.”