A Bowery Chapel Once Let Homeless New Yorkers Sleep Inside. No More.

Wow, lots of holier-than-thou passing of judgment going on in the Comments today!

The Mission appears to be guilty of nothing more than adopting the homeless policy of Trump Tower which -- as I understand it -- established a similar practice a long time ago.

Well, seems American is hardening up. Growing weary of the poor and homeless. An increasingly competitive country that gives no quarter. Not even for the weakest amongst us. Maybe thatz evolution. To me unnecessary cruelty.

Rescue people, not dogs.

Think of how much Mike Bloomberg could have done for needy charities like this instead of spending nearly HALF A BILLION DOLLARS to fan the flames of his own ego.

We live here. The Bowery Mission sits opposite men who sleep on the street in large numbers. We had a murder of a homeless man in the park a block and a half away (along with the Chinatown murders of sleeping homeless men). We've heard rumblings of a change from the men who are in the park for a while, less kindness. I've always assumed that the closure was due to the pressure from an influx of the new Ace hotel (formerly Salvation Army which had beds) and the New Museum. Everyone who came felt they were "bringing a new excitement". The arrogance was palpable. When the New Museum came here they had an exhibit with a telescope type art-piece that went up to the SRO hotel men's quarters in the remaining Sunshine Hotel. As one friend expressed "it looks like a zoo for poor people" - for those who wanted to experience a walk on the wild side but not get too deep by going upstairs. From NYT 2007:"Officials at the museum also say that once the new building opens, it will change the complexion of the Lower East Side, just as its presence changed SoHo in the early 1980s." Indeed they did.

Maybe they need to know about the shelter the POPE just opened in Rome. The office managers wanted an expensive hotel and the pope said “nope, homeless shelter.....they need to learn from him.

There is something terribly and tragically wrong with this ill-conceived decision. The Bowery Mission used to act with compassion, empathy and human understanding. If the Bowery Mission receives aid from New York City or the State of New York then that aid should be cut immediately if the Mission will not even provide shelter for the night when temperatures fall below 32 degrees. I was born in NYC. I remember the bitter cold of New York Winters living in a walk-up apartment in the Bronx in the 1940s and 1950s. The ice would form thickly on the poorly fitted and totally uninsulated glass windows. The super always limited the heat to the buildings and remember when people banged on the pipes to call for heat. The two room apartment was often cold and uncomfortable at night and we'd bundle up in bed with lots of blankets and warm pajamas. At night the heat was turned down to save even more money. I can't imagine spending a night in the cold in New York outside. I can't imagine who made this cruel decision either.

On wintry nights, as I snuggle under my warm covers, I often think of the homeless. It hurts. There but for the grace of God go I. I can't change anyone's life, but I can buy them a meal. So I do that. But on those freezing nights, clean and fed in my bed, I feel anything but smug. I just feel ... lucky.

Tough call, I'm sure. I don't know their thinking or their reasons, but it's become clear to more and more that there's a fine line between helping someone to a better situation and enabling them to stay in a bad one... Perhaps that was discussed as well... So long as there are alternative warming and sleeping places - and that one doesn't look so grand in the photo - I suppose I'll leave their decision to them. For those outraged and upset by this, consider opening your home and car and work space up to these folks - and emptying your bank account on their behalf. (Would you even give up your dog(s) to help one (1) of these human beings?) You may think this is an easy thing - getting people off the sidewalks and out from under the bridges - but it's not easy, cheap, or, often successful for very long. This, at heart, isn't a social problem but a personal problem... Throwing money and tantrums hasn't gotten "us" very far in many decades of trying for "them..." Walk your talk.

They could’t have waited til summer?

More in-depth research and reporting might have revealed whether the Bowery Mission’s income and expenses have changed in recent years, thus offering more insight into the decision to dis-allow men to sleep on the floor of the chapel in the coldest weather.

How can the well off, elite Democrats agree with this action? Maybe they can donate money to charities to take care of the poor. Just think what Bloomberg’s expenditures to get elected could have bought.

Gentrification moves things forward in mysterious and sometimes not so mysterious ways.

Maybe the Bowery Mission was overwhelmed by too many homeless

"...partly because those seeking shelter would be better off in a setting with beds and other amenities." They would be better off in a setting in which they have homes, I assume. What a horrible decision.

People asking why we have so many homeless on the streets in California can refer to this article. It’s almost never below freezing here, people survive.

That's all we need in NYC - fewer places for the homeless to sleep! This is a terrible shame, and the city needs to get more on top of providing spaces for homeless people to sleep.

78,000 homeless people in NYC as I understand it. Not sure why this change was made, but surely it can be reconsidered? Not all of these people are addicts (who "deserve" to be homeless according to many).... Even those that are; do they deserve to die or become sick living on the street when the temperature falls to dangerous levels?

Simple solution is to require an equal number of subsistence/low rent housing for every luxe condo.

The new rich people in the neighborhood don't want a lot of homeless men hanging around in the small hours of the morning.

"The perfect is the enemy of the good."

So much for following the teachings of Jesus.

Interesting photo ... is that a guy there staring into his iphone?

Since Trump's success the Christians no longer have to pretend to care. They only did that until they could get permanent control of the government. Now they punish all the sinners like God really intended them to. We are more like the Taliban in that we are cruel based on imaginary beings in the sky. It's the point of religion.

I’d probably commit suicide than be stuck in this predicament.

It would be nice if Bowery Mission could be more candid about their reasons, but it's understandable -- homelessness is so politically charged, any public statements are ruthlessly parsed for signs of insensitivity. What the Mission seems to be suggesting is that they'd rather put resources into rehab and counseling and longer-term temporary housing, with the aim to get homeless off the street permanently. The cot-on-the-floor-leave-in-the-morning type shelter in some ways encourages and enables people (mostly people with addiction and other problems) to just stay on the street and spend their time begging for drug/alcohol money instead of taking steps to get their lives in order. Our goal as a society should be to eliminate homelessness, not enable it, not make it a permanent fixture in our cities.

This is a frustrating report, as it seems the chief program officer and the interim chief executive are not being transparent in why this policy change was made. There seems to be an "oh, well" attitude, however that seems unlikely considering the mission of the Mission, its history, and the deadly consequences that are sure to result. I don't think this reporter's work is done here, quite the contrary.

I know someone who suffered a recent bout of homelessness in Denver. He was working but could not get enough ahead to rent an apartment, but finally found a not so fancy motel that rented more long term. It's no visitors allowed type place, but keeps him off the cold streets. His experience with the homeless in the shelters was that almost all of them were interested in one thing and one thing only when they were booted out of the shelters early each morning: getting and using drugs in parks and on the streets all day until the next night when they line up for a plastic covered cot. Addiction is an illness and until we can find it in our hearts to treat those addicts, having shelters will be a bandaid, not a cure. My statement is not meant to discredit shelters, but more to point out that we need to treat the cause more, and then we'll have less symptoms like people sleeping on cold streets.

While unfortunate, we must assume that this decision was made in the spirit of charity this organization clearly represents. With that assumption, the question becomes why did they have to make this decision? If it is a financial issue, how is it that the richest city in the world cannot afford to house its citizens? When we point the finger at this charity, we miss the structural issues that are the true causes of this tragedy. (Also from my experience working with churches I'd be surprised if it wasn't an insurance issue)

The Bowery Mission does wonderful work. I have been fortunate to have volunteered there several times. The reasons they have for no longer providing this type of respite must have been discussed in detail and I am sure they made the decision based on other resources equipt to handle this type of responsibility.

This saddens me. When I was a caseworker for people with AIDS, and also people with addiction issues, in NYC in the late '80's and early '90's, one of the most consistent things I heard from homeless people (or formerly homeless, as at the time the City--admirably--was adamant that anyone with a diagnosis of full-blown AIDS be housed in an apartment or, failing that, an SRO, THE DAY they walked through our doors...imagine that!) was that they would rather spend a night on the street or in the subways than in one of the city shelters. They were, and no doubt still are, that bad. People felt safer outside. And my impression has always been that the Bowery Mission has been one of the best social service programs in the city. If I recall correctly (I'd been considering making a financial donation), they also seem to be pretty good with financial transparency (per sites like Give.org). Maybe they have their reasons, but I find it very disappointing that they would close their doors to the homeless on those bitterly, dangerously cold nights, when people really do die, and leave them to choose between the shelters and the streets. They should try to reconsider, if at all possible. The Bowery, like everywhere else, has changed (not necessarily for the better, in my opinion). Homelessness has not.

We should be focused on caring for those who have much less instead of those who have way too much "more." I would like to hope the Bowery Mission will ensure that while they have essentially taken away their "Code Blue" outreach the now alternative spaces for shelter can accommodate their overflow. In NYC where more is never enough, why does the Bowery Mission have to struggle financially? Surely there are people in this city who can come together privately and create funding for this historically renowned facility. One individual just spent $1 billion on campaign funding for President of the United States - with American Samoa the only endorsement on Super Tuesday. And while I certainly do not criticize how anyone spends their money - think of what $1 billion could do for the Bowery Mission?

Another sad commentary on the city that was a beacon to the nation for so many years. It's probably time to demolish the Statute of Liberty too, turn it into a fancy condo.

Just another example of the Gentrification process that is transforming New York City at the expense of those who can least afford it. But then again we've had no snow this winter and owing to climate change, we aren't experiencing too many Code Blue nights.

It's too bad the old SRO hotels are gone. They were seedy, but offered a valuable service, renting cubicles by the day or week. Anyone who thinks homelessness is new doesn't know their history. The homeless and addicted have lived among us for generations. Developers now build only "luxury" apartments. As if every American lives in "luxury." Ha.