The building would be purchased by the Doe Fund, which operatesthe Ready Willing and Able program, providing shelter andemployment opportunities to homeless men with histories of drugabuse and criminal records. While the Doe Fund is not under fire byHevesi, neighbors living by the proposed shelter site oppose theproject. The building in question is a former knitting factory at89-111 Porter Ave. in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.Residents oppose putting in a 400-bed shelter for chronicallyhomeless men with drug addiction issues and histories ofincarceration.

The focus of Hevesi's opposition stems from the criminal past ofthe building's current owner, Jay Weiss, who Hevesi argues shouldnot benefit from a sale. Weiss paid only $12,000 last year to buythe building, which will reportedly be bought by the Doe Fund withcity funding for $2.5 million. Weiss would actually never see $1.6million of it, as that will go directly to pay for back taxes hestill owes the city. The rest, about $900,000 would be divided upbetween other fees and Weiss.

Weiss will reportedly put what's left for him, roughly $700,000,into a charitable foundation he established with his wife, Yitta.In the end he'll reportedly keep about $8,000 of the profit fromthe sale. Hevesi argues that city money should not go to pay offWeiss' debt to the city and that this building owner should not seeany profits from taxpayer money.