Violent sex offenders being housed at Bronx family shelter
A former Bronx motel-turned homeless shelter is now housing two violent sex offenders — and neighbors of the Crystal Family Residence in Ferry Point are livid.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, January 22, 2015, 3:04 PM
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ANDREW SAVULICH/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSThe former Capri Whitestone Hotel near Ferry Point Park was turned into a family homeless shelter last year. Two sex offenders are now being housed at the site.
A former Bronx motel-turned homeless shelter is now housing two violent sex offenders — and neighbors of the Crystal Family Residence in Ferry Point are livid.
When the city turned over the former Capri-Whitestone Motel to a nonprofit operator, Acacia Network, officials said the space would house indigent families.
But James Bryant, 49, a convicted child molester released from prison last year, listed the shelter as his primary residence, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice website.
Bryant’s address turned up on the site only days after Curtis Bolden, a 57-year-old convicted rapist, had moved into the shelter and residents across the borough’s southeastern neighborhoods were on edge.
James Bryant, a level two sex offender, is listed as living the Crystal Family Residence.
“We’re pushing with everything we’ve got to get these guys out of there,” said neighbor Annie Boller. “We are absolutely against a rapist living in a facility that we were told was only going to be a family shelter.”
Bryant was convicted in 2004 of aggressive sexual assault of a 7-year-old child in Texas, records show.
The child molester served 10 years behind bars and is a level-two sex offender, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice website.
MICHAEL SCHWARTZ /FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSThe Capri Whitestone Motel was converted into a homeless shelter for families last year. All of the occupants of the 95-room site are familiy units, according to officials.
Representatives from the Department of Homeless Services and Acacia Network did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
State Sen. Jeff Klein, whose district includes the site, has fought for legislation that would bar sex offenders from living in shelters with women and children. He said he was calling on the city to relocate the offenders.
“This is appalling,” Klein said. “It’s outrageous, and it puts every child potentially at risk.”
