Buffalo homeless shelter ordered to close, residents protest decision

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo homeless shelter, which the city says was operating illegally, took to its front lawn Friday to protest an order to close due to a lack of proper permits.

Sylvia's House, located on Bailey Avenue near Schiller Park, was ordered to close its new location Thursday after only being open for roughly a week. The order, posted on the front door of the shelter, was issued by the City of Buffalo's Department of Permit and Inspections.

The order states that the house is not permitted as a homeless shelter and that an inspection is required.

The order to close blindsided the shelter's founder and director, Felicia Cruz, who told WIVB News 4 that she didn't know she had to obtain that permitting and that she's willing to do whatever it takes to keep the doors open so the residents she helps don't have to sleep on the street.

"They're telling us we have to leave with no plan," Cruz said. "All of these people are going to be back on the streets. Some of them are wheelchair bound, we have about 23 out of the 65 that have medical issues, wheelchair bound, walkers, things like that. Where are we going to put them?"

Dozens of the shelter's residents made up signs and took to the front of the shelter along the highway to protest the city's decision, as they shouted in unison, "Save our house!"

Several residents said if they're forced to leave, they will have nowhere to go and will be forced to sleep on the streets -- a harsh reality that has some of the shelter's founders devastated and pleading for the city to work with them to keep their doors open.

"I just want communication," Cruz said. "I just want help to see how we can push this along and move forward. Shutting down is not the answer. It's not the solution."

Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon responded to the city's order on Friday, saying it comes down to an issue of safety.

"There's some stuff going on over there that we have to make sure that, first of all, the people in the building are safe. That's one of the major concerns -- lack of license, permit, things like that, no inspections. So we don't know whether it's even fully safe for people to be in there," Scanlon said. "That's the big issue, as well as some additional activity that's been taking place over there that's negatively impacting the neighborhood."

The Mayor's Office, along with council president Bryan Bollman, issued a lengthy joint statement Friday afternoon following the demonstration outside the shelter, saying they "illegally begun using the dilapidated former rectory at 1947 Bailey Avenue as a sheltering operation unbeknownst to the city."

Their statement went on to state that shelter staff made "no attempt" to contact or discuss a potential shelter with the city's Department of Permit & Inspection Services, the Mayor's Office, or Council President Bollman's office as the district representative of the impacted neighborhood.

"Over the past several days, dozens of individuals have been living in unsanitary and hazardous conditions that lack basic life safety protections and are putting these individuals lives in danger and at risk, particularly those with disabilities. This type of living environment is not only illegal, it's unacceptable," the statement read. "The Cease Operations Order was issued to protect these vulnerable individuals and to ensure that the quality of life for residents in the neighborhood is not further impacted."

The shelter's leaders and staff say they will stay outside the Bailey Avenue location and protest to keep their doors open until the city forces them to leave.