Mamdani Opens Homeless Shelter Next to Peck Slip School

On Tuesday February 3, with no public forewarning, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced via press release that a 106-bed “Safe Haven” homeless shelter would be opening the next day in “Lower Manhattan.” He didn’t give the address, 320 Pearl St.; he didn’t say it was a former Hampton Inn next to the public Peck Slip School; and he didn’t say it was the completion of a highly disputed plan begun by his predecessor, Eric Adams.

When this reporter recently visited the shelter, he found a laser printed paper sign duct taped to the door. Beneath the logo of the shelter’s operator, Breaking Ground, the words, printed in all caps read, “PRIVATE AREA. NO ACCESS POINT WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION FROM BREAKING GROUND.”

What the heck just happened?

First, for context, recall what was happening: Gotham was in the grips of a sub-freezing cold spell, with at least 17 people found dead outside. (This number has since risen and most, though not all, of the victims were homeless.) Mounds of dirty snow and ice were everywhere, as were impassible crosswalks and in certain locales adjoining MTA property the sidewalks remained unshoveled, unsalted, bone breaking sheets of ice. Strong winds sent the wind chill factor into sub zero territory on the worst days of the big freeze.

For both humanitarian and political reasons, it was imperative that Hizzoner take action. One of those actions was to annouce the opening of the 320 Pearl Street one day, and open it the next. Read the headline of the downtown periodical E-Broadsheet, “We Were Blindsided.” The comments section of the Tribeca Citizen offered offered similar sentiments.

When Mayor Adams tried to open the same shelter in 2024, he was pilloried for making an announcement in mid-June—near the end of the Peck Slip School year—for a planned opening that September. Though it was widely assumed this timing was intended to stifle opposition, the ruse failed. A Peck Slip Adovcates for School Safety (PASS) group was formed and, with backing from Community Board 1, Council Member Christopher Marte (who supports shelters generally but not a “Safe Haven” adjacent to an elementary school), and residents of neighboring Southbridge Towers, they filed suit.

The shelter’s opening was paused and, in August 2025, State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled against the city.

Engoron’s decision, while seen as vindication at the time, was open ended. The city hadn’t filed its “Fair Share” proposal properly; once it did so, the shelter might proceed. Mayor Adams, then in the midst of his doomed reelection campaign, didn’t publicly pursue the matter. Nor was the proposed shelter a campaign, or post-electoral issue.

If not forgotten, especially by the project’s primary “stakeholders,” the Department of Social Services (DSS), Breaking Ground, and the building’s owner, Slate Property Group—320 Pearl St. was largely out of mind.

What You Should Know

Headlined “Mayor Mamdani Announces Opening of New Safe Haven Shelter in Lower Manhattan,” Hizzoner’s Feb. 3 press release included one uncaptioned photo, while three other photos, all taken inside 320 Pearl St. one learned, were posted on the Mayor’s Flickr account. There was no in-person event or announcement.

Mamdani was busy that day. Hizzoner hosted a public event on free tax preparation at which Council Member Harvey Epstein appeared, along with a sign reading “New Era Day 034.” At the end, the press was allowed some questions.

The Mayor also appeared in City Hall photo session with the delivery workers union, Los Deliveristas Unidos.

On the social media front, Mamdani posted a video with Creole subtitles explaining that “many of our Haitian neighbors are stuck in legal limbo.” Continued Hizzoner, “As the fight over Temporary Protected Status continues, we encourage anyone with TPS to use the city’s free immigration legal support and explore every legal pathway available. Call 800-354-0365 to learn more.”

The Mayor choose not to apply his video communication skills to his homeless policy in general and 320 Pearl St. specifically.

That Mamdani failed to mention opening the shelter represented a triumph of Mayor Eric Adams policy.

As for DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park–a well-regarded Adams holdover–her press release statement was dutiful: “We applaud Mayor Mamdani’s strong commitment to supporting our most vulnerable New Yorkers and investing in housing solutions and resources that serve their unique needs,” she said. “With the expedited opening of this site we are leaving no stone unturned in our response to the ongoing weather emergency and ensuring we are making all kinds of transitional housing options available for New Yorkers in need with the goal of meeting them where they are.”

Six days later, Park resigned, citing uncertainty over her position. The New York Times headline was less ambiguous: “N.Y.C. Social Services Chief Resigns After Losing Mamdani’s Favor.”

Questions Remain

Beyond the philophical issue of what society owes the homeless, the biggest unanswered question in the 320 Pearl St. saga is did the city’s revised “Fair Share” proposal satisfy Judge Engeron’s objections?

Eric Yu, a Community Board 1 member and Southbridge Towers resident who primaried Christopher Marte in 2025 is skeptical, and wary of what he calls, “the homeless industry.” Informed that the “non-profit” Breaking Ground President and CEO Brenda Rosen was paid $641,542 with $14,471 in other compensation in 2024, Yu, who works for the MTA, was speechless.

Slate Property Group, the owner of 320 Pearl Street, purchased the former hotel in December 2023 for $24.1 million and is elsewhere involved in city-partnered affordable housing developments.