Council member Susan Zhuang and others arrested during protest against Gravesend homeless shelter • Brooklyn Paper

City Councilwoman Susan Zhuang and a number of other south Brooklyn residents were arrested early Wednesday morning during a spontaneous protest at the future site of a homeless shelter in Gravesend.

About 150 people gathered to protest after demolition began at 2501 86th St. around 3 a.m., Zhuang’s communications director Felix Tager said. The council member was arrested between 5 and 6 a.m. as she tried to protect an 80-year-old woman who was pushed against a barricade at the scene, Tager said.

A video posted to X by Yiatin Chu, a candidate for state Senate, shows police wrestling with Zhuang and several other protesters over the metal barricade. At one point, it appears they lift the barricade and push it against the protester while several officers attempt to handcuff Zhuang. Tager said police pulled Zhuang by her hair and put her in a chokehold during the arrest, and the council member is being held at the 62nd Precinct.

A representative of the NYPD confirmed that several people were arrested at the scene, but said police had not yet confirmed exactly how many there were or what charges were filed against them. By 12pm, the protest was well underway – and it appeared that several hundred people had gathered.

Residents – led by Zhuang and local MP William Colton – have been urging the city since late last year to abandon plans to open the 150-bed men’s shelter because it is too close to schools, shops and homes and would have a negative impact on the neighborhood and the shelter’s residents.

City officials previously told the Brooklyn Paper that they notified residents last November that the shelter would be set up and that it would be the first shelter of its kind in the borough. The shelter, which is scheduled to open later this year, will provide residents with support services and 24/7 security, according to the city’s Department of Social Services.

Protesters at the site said Wednesday that construction crews did not have building permits for the construction site. Zhuang posted a video on X showing a police officer speaking to protesters at the site at around 6 a.m. and wrote: “There are no permits. The mayor’s office approved construction in our neighborhood at 5 a.m.”

One of the residents, Brian Little, told the Brooklyn Paper on Wednesday morning: “Over my dead body they will build a homeless shelter here that will destroy our quality of life.”

But city records show the city’s Building Department issued a demolition permit in February and approved the work in March. According to a Building Department spokesman, the department issued an order to stop work at the site in April after it was revealed that the developer had failed to properly notify one of six neighbors that the building was being demolished.

The order to stop work was lifted in May after the developer was able to prove that he had contacted the sixth neighbor.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with further information. Last updated on 17.07.24, 00:39

Additional reporting by Lloyd Mitchell