In recent protests against the homeless shelter at 86th Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, tensions between the police and the community have escalated since clashes erupted in July. This surge in unrest has finally captured the attention of Mayor Eric Adams’s administration. Led by State Senator Liu, a meeting between city officials and community members recently took place, marking their first encounter. However, the discussions were chaotic, characterized by a lack of consensus and no satisfactory answers from city officials. Given the prior severe conflicts in the community, Mayor Adams still seems reluctant to confront residents directly, which many find unacceptable.

Residents of Bensonhurst were aware of plans to establish a homeless shelter in their neighborhood for over a year, and it’s been more than 40 days since the last significant conflict between the police and the community erupted at a protest. Following this unrest, members of the Asian community marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall in Manhattan, expressing their dissatisfaction with the city’s refusal to listen to public opinion and its decision to deploy police against peaceful protesters. Since the conflicts, Adams has occasionally mentioned plans to meet with local elected officials but has only made vague statements concerning the shelter, trying to frame opposition as rooted in racism, implying that the community is unwilling to accept Black homeless individuals. This is a mischaracterization of the concerns expressed by the residents.

During the recent hard-won meeting, Senator Liu and 15 community representatives engaged with city officials, but the outcome was far from satisfactory. Participants noted that both sides talked past each other without effective communication, and there was no clear agenda. When city officials were asked to visit the 86th Street site for a firsthand assessment, representatives were non-committal, promising only to “get back after consulting with higher-ups.”

These signs suggest that the city’s organization of this meeting was more of a forced gesture rather than an earnest respect for community input. It’s clear that Adams must recognize that the Asian community will no longer tolerate delays. Unless the city decides to heed public opinion and withdraw the shelter proposal, such unproductive meetings will serve little purpose, and residents are determined not to back down.