The NYPD has taken its “ticket blitz” to the homeless.
Residents of one of the city’s most notorious homeless shelters received more than 200 summonses in a 28-day blitz by the 77th and 79th precincts, The Post has learned.
Cops say the quality-of-life summonses will restore order around Brooklyn’s infamous Bedford-Atlantic shelter, but the men who call the shelter home say cops are hitting them with fines on specious charges such as trespassing and loitering.
“We’re just out here trying to get work and they give us tickets,” said Anthony Diaz, 35, who was hit for “trespassing” outside the shelter, although he lives there.
Ernest Smith, 39, got a summons on each of three straight days this month. One was for disorderly conduct and another for impeding pedestrian traffic. The third was illegible.
Many of the summonses are dismissed when the men appear in court, but some carry $75 fines.
Police said the clampdown comes in response to complaints from residents who live near the shelter, located in an old armory at Bedford and Atlantic avenues.
“It’s our primary quality-of-life location and it’s an area that we have to give daily attention to,” said Deputy Inspector James O’Connell, commanding officer of the 77th Precinct. “[The goal is] an orderly environment so residents can go to church, go to work, and have leisure time in the neighborhood without being harassed.”
Residents and business owners complain of frequent panhandling and public drunkenness outside the shelter.
Shanett Jackson, a gas station manager, said the men even grab the pump to shake down customers for change.
“They are very aggressive and they scare customers,” she said.
Alfred, 30, who doesn’t live at the shelter but gathers with some homeless men every morning looking for work as a day laborer, agreed that some enforcement may be necessary, but said that the police had recently gotten out of hand.
“The police are just harassing us,” he said.
In the 28-day blitz, 77th and 79th Precinct cops handed out 228 summonses – more than eight a day.
Handing out quality-of-life summonses not only cracks down on disorderly behavior, but also allows police to arrest and jail many homeless if they fail to pay the fines or show up in court.
GIMME SHELTER
* 350-bed men’s shelter run by city Department of Homeless Services.
* DHS peace officers are stationed within the shelter for security.
* Designed by Isaac G. Perry chief architect of the State Capital in Albany, the Romanesque structure was originally built for the 23rd Regiment and was one of 29 armories built in New York and Brooklyn between 1880 and 1913.
* Construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1902.