Residents of one Queens neighborhood are outraged over a plan to convert a hotel into a homeless shelter.
Hundreds turned out for a heated town hall meeting Thursday night.
They voiced concerns about plans to convert a Holiday Inn Express on 55th Road and Maurice Avenue into an adult homeless shelter on October 1.
Residents argued they already have three homeless shelters in the neighborhood.
Some community members also staged an impromptu protest outside the hotel after the meeting.
Those NY1 spoke with said the shelter would lead to more crime and overcrowding.
"It's kind of like a slap in the face," said one person opposed to the plan. "Don't we have a say? We pay our taxes here. Don't we have a say in what's going to be around here?
"Not that we're saying they don't deserve homes. We have plenty of shelters in our area. We have three already, OK? I don't think it's fair that another one comes to our community," said another. "And our schools already are overcrowded. Our children are sitting with 29, 30 kids in a classroom.
"Nobody told us anything. They saying they open on the first, that's it, done deal. That's not right," said a third. "Let's bring it into Park Slope. Maybe that's going to be better. What do you think? They should bring it over to Park Slope. That'd be perfect."
City officials say there are 243 people currently in the shelter system who are orginially from Maspeth. They say they are still looking at other possible sites for homeless shelters.