On May 17, 2026, in Manhattan’s Lower East Side District 65, state assembly candidate Jacky Wong, along with the American Fujian Women’s Friendship Alliance, hosted an Asian Heritage Month celebration event at the community center in Nolita Village. The event attracted nearly a hundred residents. One of the focal points of the community was the controversy surrounding the homeless shelter at 91 East Broadway.
Residents have been engaging in a five-year-long protest against the proposed homeless shelter which recently faced a setback. The shelter project, suspected of violating building usage regulations, was rejected and the developers will need to reapply.
Jacky Wong mentioned that in late 2021, the city government announced plans to add four homeless shelters around Chinatown, sparking strong backlash from the community. Through demonstrations, lobbying, and legal means, residents were able to successfully block three of the projects. The 91 East Broadway project, led by the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE), continued to be a focus of community attention.
He pointed out that taking the city government to court is no easy task, but with the support of community organizations, businesses, doctors, and residents, legal actions have been sustained and successfully delayed the project until now. The project plans to establish a shelter on the ground floor of a hotel for use by all homeless individuals south of 60th Street in Manhattan. According to city hotel zoning amendments, developers must first obtain a special permit from the New York City Planning Commission (CPC) before seeking approval from the Department of Buildings (DOB) for this change. Public records show that the developers applied for an exemption from this permit on April 7, 2023, but the system does not currently display approval of this exemption. If a reapplication is necessary, coupled with community opposition, it is expected to cause further delays. This demonstrates that the residents’ years-long resistance has not been in vain.
Yukin Shan, Vice Chairman of the Confucius Building, who donated to support legal actions against the 91 East Broadway homeless shelter, stated that the project not only impacts a single block but also affects the safety and living environment of the entire Chinatown. He pointed out that there are already several homeless facilities around Chinatown, and adding a large shelter would further exacerbate resident concerns. Therefore, the community must continue to exert efforts to prevent it.
The 91 East Broadway project is located at the former “Hotel 91,” which has been closed, at the border of Manhattan’s Chinatown and the Lower East Side. In late 2021, the New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) announced plans to convert the site into a “Safe Haven” transitional homeless shelter for about 120 single men, to be operated by the nonprofit organization Care for the Homeless. The project also includes plans for on-site medical and social service facilities.
Initially, the AAFE was involved in discussions for the project and proposed to assist in providing Mandarin and other Asian community language services. However, due to ongoing controversies and community protests, the AAFE withdrew from the project in early December 2021 and released a statement in February 2022, stating that they had no association with the proposed shelter project at 91 East Broadway in Manhattan’s Chinatown.