Armory/Homeless Shelter in Crown Heights

When I used to be at home a lot I would notice a flow of shabby men from the east walking through PH on their way to Flatbush. In the evening the flow was reversed. I think they were the inhabitants of the shelter. I think they were responsible for a lot of the petty crime in the neighborhood.

I thought about a condo also on Pacific and Bedford. I would not advise it. Especially being Female.

I would suggest you walk around, and see if you can speak to anyone living at the Imperial Apartments, or ask at St.Bartholomew’s Church. They are both very close to the corner, and would know if the people there are a real or perceived danger.

I live a block down, between Nostrand and Nostrand, and there is no spillover where I am, but I certainly understand your concern, especially as a condo owner. I walk by there quite often, and have never been harassed or even spoken to. But then, I’m a middle aged woman, not a young thing anymore, although that doesn’t matter to some men.

I know there is plenty of community talk about the future of the armory. We would like to see the shelter much reduced in size, and the bulk of the building turned back to the community, ala Park Slope’s armory. Someday, proximity to this architectural (and landmarked) gem will be a positive thing.

There is a lot going on on your (possible) block. The biggest impediment to change are the apartment buildings on the south side of the block, but much of the block is going through amazing change. If you do move there, welcome!

As far as I’ve heard it’s going to stay a shelter. I’d be very diligent in my fact finding about crime around there. Talk to neighbors, go around at various times as the above poster noted, talk to the precinct. We have a building near there and it gets broken into and robbed at least once a year and in the recent past it was robbed about 4 times in a month. The users of the facility contributed their vulnerability to proximity to the shelter.