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Officials Seek Solutions As Neighbors Complain About Bellevue Men's Shelter

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Officials and lawmakers were searching for solutions Tuesday, as complaints mounted about the Bellevue Men's Shelter in Kips Bay.

As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, people in the surrounding neighborhood said the situation at the homeless shelter, at East 30th Street and First Avenue, just keeps getting worse.

Neighbors have shared countless pictures of homeless men from the shelter in their neighborhood – doing drugs, passed out and partially exposed. One man was even seen defecating on the curb right in front Terri Pennacchia's building across the street.

"I mean, this is commonplace!" Pennacchia said. "I wish I could tell you that that was a horrible thing that happened once in a blue moon."

Neighbors said the shelter is simply overwhelmed. While city shelters were capped to hold 200 beds in 1999, Bellevue – the citywide intake center for homeless men – was grandfathered to hold 850 beds.

Gregory Descardes said he used to stay at the Bellevue shelter, and the poor conditions motivated him to get his act together.

"They're straight out of jail, you know? The people are on drugs, you know? They're smoking crack. And you know, it's like, they're stealing," Descardes said. "Like, it's the ... worst experience I ever had in my whole life."

The Department of Homeless Services said there were eight violent incidents in the shelter in 2015. In April of this year, a man was murdered at the shelter – his throat slashed by another homeless man.

After a 90-day review by Homeless Services, the city made several security improvements, including installing 280 security cameras and in the shelter for the first time since it opened more than 30 years ago.

Human Resources Administration Commissioner Steven Banks said the city is not done making changes.

"We're working with the Police Department, which has deployed a management team to the Department of Homeless Services to review the security needs in this shelter and throughout the system. And that will improve safety for both residents in the shelter and in the community," Banks said.

City Councilmember Rosie Mendez (D-2nd) represents the neighborhood surrounding the Bellevue shelter, and wants the number of beds reduced.

"Could we strive for 400, maybe 450?" Mendez said. "I think that would clear up a lot of the problems."

Banks said the city is looking into all options, but said the primary solution is homelessness prevention.

As a result of the city's 90-day review of the Department of Homeless Services, 180 at-risk residents were transferred to more specialized shelters. They were replaced with 180 employed or employable shelter residents.

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