Brooklyn shelter housing 110 homeless men without background checks: report

New York City will move 110 single homeless men to a shelter in Brooklyn without a criminal background check, according to a new report, sparking outrage among residents who fear the move will bring more crime to their quiet neighborhood.

The Gold Star Inn in Sheepshead Bay, which has served as a family shelter for a year, is expected to begin housing single elderly men next week after the city’s Department of Transportation decided to evacuate the 55 families currently living there, the New York Post first reported.

The move has alarmed nearby residents, who told the Post they’ve seen an uptick in crime since the shelter opened and are worried the change to single men’s housing will exacerbate those problems.

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“People are breaking into cars, people are vandalizing the park, taking their pants down in the park,” Fahad, 30, a plumber in Brighton Beach, told the outlet. “It had been quiet.”

According to NYPD data, shootings in the 61st Precinct, which includes Sheepshead Bay, have increased to 5 so far this year, which is a 400% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Rape reports doubled from 8 to 16, while shoplifting increased by 10%.

Overall crime in the area is down about 7% so far this year compared to the same period in 2025, according to NYPD data.

Residents also expressed concern that city officials would not conduct criminal background checks on residents entering the shelters.

A man with his shopping carts sits on the side of the road near a homeless shelter in New York, United States, on Nov. 21, 2025. (Zhang Fengguo/Xinhua via Getty Images)

“The Homeless Department has confirmed that there will be no criminal background checks, leaving room for potential sex offenders and convicted felons to contact our children,” wrote Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov in a letter to the city’s Department of Social Services (DSS) last week.

Vernikov said the change would be “very bad” for the nearby community, citing concerns about loitering, drug use and crime near the shelter, which sits across the street from Lew Fidler Park, a popular playground.

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Ginny, a resident who declined to give her last name, told the Post that “not looking at the background is not the city’s diligence.”

“How [they] they say they are protecting children if they allow that? There are also adults who may be victims,” ​​he said.

Another neighbor, Olga Adynets, said someone who had just been released from prison was already living in the shelter.

“I don’t want it to spread. I’m worried,” he said.

The shelter is operated by BHRAGS, a non-profit organization that faced federal scrutiny after its former director Roberto Samedy and former board chairman Jean Ronald Tirelus were indicted earlier this year on charges including fraud, embezzlement and accepting illegal payments.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani appears to be speaking during an interview. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Despite the investigation, Mayor Zohran Mamdani awarded the agency nearly $200 million in new city contracts in June, according to the Post.

City officials told the agency that the change in shelter reflects changing demand, with fewer families entering the shelter system and older single men in need of housing. Officials also said BHRAGS is under new leadership after the city downgraded the nonprofit shelter.

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“This organization continues to deal with discrimination against older single men who are homeless,” a DSS spokesperson told The Post. “The center also implements good neighbor policies while maintaining open lines of communication with the community to address any issues that arise.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the mayor’s office and DSS for comment.