Exploring An Abandoned Homeless Shelter
Located an hour north of New York City, this former men’s homeless shelter has had several intriguing incarnations. Once a genteel farm comprising more than 250 acres, it was bequeathed to the City of New York in the 19th century and handed over to the Department of Corrections. The DOC transformed it into a prison farm for women serving sentences of less than three years. That incarnation lasted into the mid twentieth century, when it was transformed again, this time into a homeless shelter. At its peak, the former farm colony housed over 1,000 homeless men from New York City. The influx of homeless men was not well received by neighbors in what had become a quiet neighborhood of suburban homes and families. The property closed for good in 2007 and has since become the victim of significant vandalism. Redevelopment plans surface from time to time but there is nothing definite. Any ideas for a sprawling campus of garbage-strewn buildings an hour north of NYC?
