Over 150 people, including Poles, gathered on Sunday afternoon in front of the building at 400 McGuinness Blvd., in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood, to protest against the plans to open a homeless shelter there. The police closed down the intersection for the duration of the rally.

"No to the shelter in Greenpoint," "Take care of Greenpoint's homeless first," "We don't want 200 more homeless," read the banners held by the rally participants. Apart from the local residents, the anti-shelter demonstration was attended by reporters and local politicians, such as Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-District 50) and City Councilman Stephen Levin (D-District 33), who was responsible for initiating the rally. Once again, the politicians showed their support for the Greenpoint residents and promised to find a lawyer to protect their interests.

"We have to stand up for ourselves and continue to protest. We need to come here in greater numbers," said Assemblyman Lentol, announcing further initiatives with more politicians and more media coverage. "We want all politicians representing Greenpoint to be familiar with the issue. For years we have been taking care of the homeless in our neighborhood and we have devoted activists who sacrifice their time to it. We can manage with the local homeless, but we don't need additional ones," said the assemblyman, who was awarded with a round of applause.

Stephen Levin added: "Those who want to open a homeless shelter here only care about business and money. We are fighting for the better future for Greenpoint. It is our neighborhood and they have to take our opinion into consideration and act responsibly."

A group of Poles were among the Greenpoint residents who attended the rally. "We are against bringing the homeless from the entire city to Greenpoint," said Krzysztof Rostek, a developer who runs his business in Greenpoint. "Currently, our neighborhood is struggling with a couple of problems, such as the water treatment plant and trash recycling. We don't need another problem; however, we support all initiatives that help the local homeless and we applaud Eryka Volker, who does a lot in this regard," the businessman added.

The controversy around the planned homeless shelter in this Brooklyn Polish neighborhood has been brewing for months. Many residents fear that creating the so-called assessment shelter, where 200 homeless persons can be checked before being sent to other shelters, will attract the homeless from the entire city to the neighborhood. After HELP USA gave up with its plans to create the shelter at 400 McGuinness Blvd, now a similar initiative has been submitted to the City Department of Homeless Services by the Bowery Residents Committee.