Protect the Our Neighborhood: Hold the City Accountable for 8 East 3rd Street

For decades, our community has advocated for transparency and safety in how the City of New York manages its facilities. Recently, the City made a sudden decision to reopen 8 East 3rd Street as a citywide homeless adult male intake center—a site that was previously deemed unfit due to overcrowding and safety concerns.

We are not just a group of concerned neighbors; we are a community taking legal action to ensure the City follows the law.

Based on the documents filed in our case (as seen in the recent court orders), we have already achieved a significant milestone. The court has granted our request for limited discovery, forcing the City and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to come clean about:

Funding Transparency: Where exactly the money for this construction is coming from (Capital vs. Operating dollars).

Safety Violations: The details surrounding the NYC Department of Buildings' violations issued at the site in April 2026 for unpermitted work.

Legal Compliance: Whether the City bypassed mandatory reviews like ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) and environmental safety checks (SEQRA/CEQR).

Our legal challenge argues that the City’s decision was "arbitrary and capricious." We are fighting to prove that the City ignored the quadrupling of the homeless population since this site was last used, the increased density of our neighborhood, and the potential for irreparable harm to both the residents of the facility and our community.

How You Can Help

Legal battles against the City of New York are expensive and time-consuming. We have a critical court date approaching on May 28, 2026, and we must continue to fund the experts and legal counsel necessary to analyze the documents the City has been ordered to produce by May 22nd.

Your donation will go directly toward:

Legal Fees: To keep our counsel fighting in court.

Expert Analysis: To review construction permits and funding sources.

We have shown the court that our claims have merit. Now, we need your help to cross the finish line. Please donate today to protect the integrity of the East Village and ensure the City is held to the same legal standards as every other developer and agency.

V.O.I.C.E.

Village Organization for the Integrity of Community Engagement

VoiceBowery@gmail.com

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V.O.I.C.E. Village Organization for the Integrity of Community Engagement