Judge Blocks NYC Opening of East Village Homeless Shelter Intake Center

By Josephine Stratman | jstratman@nydailynews.com | New York Daily News
April 22, 2026 

A judge temporarily blocked the city from opening a new intake shelter in the East Village Wednesday after a group of neighborhood residents filed a court challenge over how the Mamdani administration went about closing the existing 30th Street shelter.
The temporary restraining order, issued by Justice Sabrina Kraus, does not mean the move is off the table for good, though it will at least shift back the city’s timeline for shuttering the existing center, near Bellevue Hospital.
“The conditions at the 30th St/Bellevue Intake Shelter have been unacceptable for years,” said Sneha Choudhary, a spokesperson for the mayor…

The next court date in the case is May 7. In the meantime, the city will continue to operate at the 30th Street shelter, Choudhary said.
A group of East Village residents filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, claiming the city had improperly invoked the use of an emergency order in opening a new intake shelter in the neighborhood.