East Village residents who overwhelmingly backed New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani are now trying to block one of his administration’s key moves, suing to stop a building in their neighborhood from being turned into a temporary homeless shelter.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in New York City Supreme Court, highlights growing pushback from within Mamdani’s own base as his policies begin to hit close to home.
The backlash quickly drew ridicule from conservatives, who pointed to the political whiplash. Sen. Ted Cruz summed it up in a brief post: “Oops.”
Others were more blunt.
“No one is more ‘not in my backyard’ than white progressives. This community voted for Mamdani in a landslide but don’t want to live with the consequences,” said Michael Henry, a former New York attorney general candidate.
Sen. Rick Scott added: “Not shocked.”
The numbers underscore the tension. Election District 45, which includes the East Village, backed Mamdani by a wide margin, giving him 70.1% of the vote. Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo trailed with 26.0%.
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Despite that landslide, a group of 10 residents joined the Village Organization for the Integrity of Community Engagement, or VOICE, in suing the city after Mamdani announced plans to convert a property at 8 East 3rd Street into a centralized intake shelter for homeless adult men.
The lawsuit claims the city rushed the decision and sidestepped required environmental reviews and legal procedures.
“It challenges the city’s hastily made and legally invalid decision to locate a new citywide homeless adult male intake center at 8 East 3rd Street without following any of the legal requirements that must precede such a significant and consequential decision,” the filing reads.
According to the complaint, the administration leaned on a 2022 emergency declaration — originally issued to deal with an influx of asylum seekers — to fast-track the project.
City officials say the plan is necessary as they move to shut down the Bellevue Shelter, which they argue is no longer suitable for use.
“The Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will immediately implement an operational plan to vacate 30th Street and relocate the critical functions to other sites. There are approximately 250 individuals in the shelter and the DSS is working to relocate these individuals by mid-March,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.
The administration also announced a second site at 333 Bowery St., expected to open May 1, to house families without minor children.
As of now, the New York Supreme Court has not acted on requests for emergency relief that would halt the shelter plan.
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