Controversial Greenpoint building receives renewed shelter pitch

A Manhattan-based social services provider, the Bowery Residents’ Committee, is pitching a proposal to turn a four-story Greenpoint building at 400 Mcguinness Boulevard into a men’s homeless shelter, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The plan to turn the building into a 200-bed homeless facility is nearly identical to one submitted by Help USA last August, which was abandoned after seven months of public outcry from the community. The building has been an epicenter of controversy in the community, recently drawing ire from residents when new owner Shimme Horn, a Manhattan hotelier, announced plans to turn it into a halfway house for recently released felons. Neither Horn nor the Department of Homeless Services commented on the proposal. [Brooklyn Paper]