NEW YORK — A man died by suicide after being abruptly kicked out of a shelter as part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to turn the shelter into an intake center for homeless people seeking a bed, according to the man’s family and two other people familiar with the matter.
Steven Rosa was found dead in early April in the Brooklyn hotel room where he had been housed as the New York City Department of Social Services rushed to convert two lower Manhattan shelters into intake centers for adult men and families amid concerns that the current intake facility was no longer safe to live in.
Rosa’s death underscores the high stakes of policy decisions regarding New York City’s homeless population, which has reached record levels in recent years with the arrival of thousands of migrants seeking asylum. There are now more than 100,000 people in the city’s shelter system, according to the Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy organization that tracks the data.
The opening of the new intake sites, which was scheduled for May 1, is already in legal limbo as a group of local residents has filed a lawsuit accusing the city of violating numerous review and public notice requirements. A judge blocked the inauguration until the case continued. Now Rosa’s death highlights troubling shortcomings in the city’s weeks-long process of relocating hundreds of shelter residents, her family said.
“They really dropped the ball, and I’m sure my son is not alone,” Steven’s mother, Ana Rosa, said in an interview.
Neha Sharma, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Services, which oversees homeless services, said Rosa’s death was a “heartbreaking tragedy” and said the agency serves an “exceptionally high-risk population.”
“While we cannot comment on specifics due to client confidentiality, we can confirm that DSS has followed standard protocols and relied on the guidance of program staff, who work closely with clients, to make informed decisions about placement,” Sharma said in a statement. “We continue our efforts to assess potential risk factors – which may not be apparent based on self-reported information and case histories available to the agency – while strengthening the connection to health care for all clients.”
The main entrance to the city’s vast shelter system has long been on East 30th Street in Manhattan, near Bellevue Hospital. Single adult men and families without small children go to the so-called Bellevue shelter to request a bed, sometimes staying there for several days or weeks, while intake sites in Brooklyn and the Bronx enroll adult women and families with children.
Mamdani announced last month that the city would close the 30th Street Intake Shelter, citing “the condition of the facility.”severe disorder","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/03/mamdani-administration-announces-plan-to-close-bellevue-shelter-","_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0000","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0001","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>severe disorder” Intake will move into a pair of buildings at Bowery and East Third Street in the East Village, which will house two shelters and several health programs run by the nonprofit Project Renewal.
First, the city had to evacuate hundreds of adults from the 30th Street facility and two Project Renovation buildings in the East Village, where a home 175 bedded men’s shelter","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.projectrenewal.org/our-work/homes/third-street-mens-shelter/","_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0002","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0003","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>175 bedded men’s shelter For people with substance abuse issues and a 108 bed shelter","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.projectrenewal.org/our-work/homes/kenton-hall-mens-shelter/","_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0004","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0005","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>108 bed shelter Called Canton Hall. According to the Coalition for the Homeless, the Department of Social Services can move shelter residents at its discretion, but except in an emergency, 48 hours notice is required.
Rosa was living at Kenton Hall, which is designated as a behavioral health shelter for people with a history of mental illness and addiction, according to one of two people familiar with her case, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. That classification means the shelter must provide behavioral health services on site.
Rosa’s relatives said he gave them the impression that he had no choice but to go to the hotel in Brownsville, Brooklyn, getting away from his family in Staten Island. His brother Adam Rosa told Politico that staff at the Kenton Hall shelter told him to pack his belongings and took him to a hotel the next day, which was shorter than the standard 48 hours.
The overcrowded Manhattan shelter wasn’t perfect, but Adam Rosa said his brother benefited from being among people because he struggled with symptoms of depression, and he was receiving medication from one of the shelter’s health care workers. According to Adam Rosa, once Rosa was flown to Brooklyn, he spent the next few weeks alone in his hotel room, and his mental health rapidly deteriorated.
“If they had never taken him to this last place, he would be alive right now, 100 percent,” he said.
Lutheran Social Services of New York, which runs the hotel-based shelter where Rosa was transferred, did not respond to a request for comment about Rosa’s case and what services are available at the site.
Talks about closing the Bellevue Intake Center and shelter on 30th Street have occurred for decades through several mayoral administrations, but never came to fruition – though not due to lack of AttemptI am doing","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/clash-over-closing-of-homeless-mens-shelter/","_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0006","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0007","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>I am trying.
Mamdani’s administration brought a new sense of urgency to the long-standing issue within his first weeks in office. Officials were alarmed by a January 23 report from a city consultant, which found “imminent structural concerns” due to “persistent and rapid deterioration” of the nearly 100-year-old building. The repairs needed were so extensive that the city would have to completely shut down the facility to complete them, according to the report, which the city shared with POLITICO.
But reports said the Department of Social Services had already begun efforts to evacuate the 30th Street shelter; Advocates told The New Yorker that they were DecemberNotified in","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.newyorker.com/news/new-york-journal/the-right-to-a-bed-in-zohran-mamdanis-new-york","_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0008","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-d73f-df48-a9bf-dfbf6f9a0009","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Notified in December. Mamdani publicly announced the building’s impending closure – and revealed the new East Village Seven locations – several weeks later, on March 5.
“We cannot accept a system that treats people without dignity or stability,” Mamdani said in a statement at the time.
Advocates with extensive experience working with homeless New Yorkers warned the Mamdani administration that resettlement could pose serious health risks if not carried out in a careful and coordinated manner, as many of those affected are being treated for serious mental illnesses, substance use disorders, or both. Any sudden change can disrupt the delicate recovery process.
“The whole thing is moving too quickly for anyone’s comfort,” Dave Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, said in an interview. “No one can understand why it’s on this timeline.”
State officials — including the Office of Addiction Services and Support — echoed those concerns as they pushed back on the city’s intake transition plan, which initially included taking over the Kenton Hall shelter on the Bowery and Project Renewal’s entire Third Street building. The Third Street Building is home to two state-regulated addiction treatment programs and a primary care clinic operated by Project Renewal, in addition to a 175-bed shelter.
OASAS Commissioner Chinazo Cunningham said during a call with city and state officials about the transition that she expected shelter residents to die as a result of the upheaval, according to two people familiar with the conversations, who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
OASAS spokesman Ivan Frost said the office first learned of Mamdani’s plans from the media. After state and city officials met to discuss the transition, the Mamdani administration committed to keeping Project Renewal’s treatment programs and primary care clinic where they are, the spokesperson said, while still taking over the building’s 175-bed shelter.
According to the Department of Social Services, most shelter residents were housed at other project renewal sites, while the rest were moved to other suitable shelters with wraparound services.
“We are ensuring that residents who have been transferred to one of our other sites continue to receive the support they need and that those who access services at the clinics located on 3rd Street continue to receive quality care without interruption,” Eric Rosenbaum, CEO of Project Renewal, said in a statement.
Project Renewal declined to comment on Rosa’s case, citing federal law protecting personal health care information.
