The Office of Staten Island Borough President
11/04/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Borough President Vito Fossella, Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo Oppose Siting Of Homeless Shelter On Former Bayley Seton Hospital Campus
Borough President Vito Fossella and Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo opposed the use of any part of the grounds of the former Bayley Seton Hospital in Clifton to house a 200-bed family homeless shelter.
"This is a very simple message -- the city is proposing to put a homeless shelter behind us and we don't want it," said Borough President Fossella at a joint press conference outside of the former hospital's Bay Street entrance. "We don't want one here, we don't want one in Charleston, yet the pattern continues. There's been talk here about building housing for young families maybe wanting to commute into Manhattan. Okay, we can discuss that, we're open to that, but to wipe that away and put a homeless shelter here is a big, big mistake and a big punch in the eye to the people of this community and to the people of Staten Island."
A letter sent to Borough President Fossella from the City Department of Social Services outlined the details of the proposed homeless shelter, including a projected 2028 opening date. The letter lists WIN as the nonprofit service provider for the proposed shelter. WIN also administers the 200-bed family homeless shelter on Victory Boulevard in Tompkinsville.
"I don't know how much more we can do to say the things that we don't want we get, and the things that we do want and we need, we don't get," said Borough President Fossella. "And there's got to be some kind of wake-up call to have the people of Staten Island have at least a voice, an input, some kind of consultation in this process. This is becoming ungovernable because we're being told what to do."
Borough President Fossella called upon the city to "provide proof" that a shelter is warranted at the site and asked the city to gather community input.
"I've been around the block a few days here," he said. "I've never seen a group of individuals who just jam things through without any input from the local community whatsoever, because one shelter today could be a second shelter tomorrow, could be whatever they want to do the next day."
"This is a very simple message -- the city is proposing to put a homeless shelter behind us and we don't want it," said Borough President Fossella at a joint press conference outside of the former hospital's Bay Street entrance. "We don't want one here, we don't want one in Charleston, yet the pattern continues. There's been talk here about building housing for young families maybe wanting to commute into Manhattan. Okay, we can discuss that, we're open to that, but to wipe that away and put a homeless shelter here is a big, big mistake and a big punch in the eye to the people of this community and to the people of Staten Island."
A letter sent to Borough President Fossella from the City Department of Social Services outlined the details of the proposed homeless shelter, including a projected 2028 opening date. The letter lists WIN as the nonprofit service provider for the proposed shelter. WIN also administers the 200-bed family homeless shelter on Victory Boulevard in Tompkinsville.
"I don't know how much more we can do to say the things that we don't want we get, and the things that we do want and we need, we don't get," said Borough President Fossella. "And there's got to be some kind of wake-up call to have the people of Staten Island have at least a voice, an input, some kind of consultation in this process. This is becoming ungovernable because we're being told what to do."
Borough President Fossella called upon the city to "provide proof" that a shelter is warranted at the site and asked the city to gather community input.
"I've been around the block a few days here," he said. "I've never seen a group of individuals who just jam things through without any input from the local community whatsoever, because one shelter today could be a second shelter tomorrow, could be whatever they want to do the next day."
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