Hunters Point, Court Square and Queens Plaza are vibrant places to live, work and play. There are Class A office buildings, restaurants and cafes reflective of Queens’ cultural diversity, and an array of retail, from mom-and-pop shops to national brands. There are schools for students of all ages and a world-class waterfront park.
Against the backdrop of a city-wide housing shortage, Long Island City has led the way. Housing is built here, including critical rent-regulated apartments, allowing working New Yorkers a better chance of living in this amenity-rich neighborhood. Finally, these highly desirable areas are tied together by the 7-train, which boasts the MTA’s most up-to-date signal technology and enviable rush hour service.
Conversely, if you walk north under the thunderous Queensboro Bridge and dart west across 21st Street, you will find a much different reality. This is where you will find the Queensbridge Houses. Consisting of 96 buildings, this NYCHA community is the largest public housing development in the Western Hemisphere and the main bastion of affordable housing for long-time and working-class residents of Long Island City.
Queensbridge is a part of Long Island City. Yet tragically, residents of this community remain excluded from the development and investments that have occurred in more affluent portions of the neighborhood. North, south, and east of the Queensbridge Houses are vast swaths of land set aside for industrial uses: warehouses, manufacturing spaces, and parking lots.
Bodegas and fast food restaurants are abundant along commercial corridors, while grocery stores are scarce. Sidewalks are cracked, and with few homes or apartments, the streets become dark and isolated once the work day concludes. Rather than serve as a walkable and amenity-rich extension of the Queensbridge community, these blocks that surround the development only create a physical barrier between the haves and the have-nots.
This reality is in large part a legacy of environmental injustice that marginalizes black and brown communities: redlining, harmful infrastructure placement, and restrictive zoning. But not all setbacks can be attributed to policies made in previous decades. Notably, under the previous City Administration, a decision was made to site a 200-bed shelter at the corner of 40th Avenue and 11th Street, right across the street from the Queensbridge Houses. This decision, which was made wholly without community input or notification, has only come to resident’s attention in recent weeks, as plans to construct the facility advance.
The planned shelter has drawn strong opposition from Queensbridge residents. This is not due to a lack of compassion for the unhoused, but instead, because this neighborhood already shoulders a disproportionate share of the City’s temporary housing facilities.
Within a one-mile radius of Queensbridge, there are 34 shelters — an overwhelming concentration that far exceeds what other neighborhoods are asked to accommodate. This pattern reflects a systemic inequity: decision-makers site shelters in marginalized communities like Queensbridge to avoid opposition from more affluent areas that have the resources and political influence to block such developments.
The result is a community stretched to its limits. Schools, healthcare facilities, and social services are already overburdened, struggling to meet the needs of both long-term residents and those in temporary housing.
Queensbridge’s infrastructure, from its public safety measures to its recreational spaces, has suffered from decades of underinvestment. Adding another shelter will only exacerbate these challenges, further straining resources and eroding the quality of life for everyone in the community.
While shelters may offer a short-term solution to homelessness, they do not address the root causes of housing insecurity or provide the stability that families need to thrive. Permanent affordable housing, by contrast, creates long-term opportunities for individuals and families to build lives with dignity. It also fosters a more stable and cohesive community, with access to amenities, services, and infrastructure that benefit all residents.
It is for these reasons that we call on the Department of Homeless Services to right this wrong imposed on us by the previous Administration. The time is now to advance affordable housing for New Yorkers of all backgrounds, rather than build another shelter that the Queensbridge community does not have the resources to support.
Laura Rothrock is the president of Long Island City Partnership, and Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor is the CEO of Urban Upbound
