A woman allegedly threatened with an axe. Another reportedly attacked in her apartment. A man stabbed in the chest.
Since residents began moving into the building in early June, Asteri has endured a spate of criminal activity.
Asteri, a $96 million affordable housing development in the Ithaca Commons, opened in August 2024 to provide 40 housing units with on-site support services specifically reserved for previously unhoused individuals. Some residents, however, told The Sun they feel unsafe in these accommodations, voicing concerns about the transition.
The 181 affordable housing units were built to combat increased homelessness in Ithaca. Households earning 80 percent or less of Ithaca’s Area Median Income of approximately $45,000 are eligible for affordable rent. Tompkins County, along with state and federal partners, contributed to funding this public-private development project.
Many residents, however, are unhappy with the conditions inside and around the development. The visibly broken key-card scanner has rendered the building entrance constantly open for over a month, according to some residents. Despite ‘No Smoking’ signs, people smoke cigarettes in hallways where “you literally cannot breathe,” one resident said.
“It’s a sh*t hole,” said Joshua Fenton, a resident of four months. “Personally, I don’t want to live here no more.”
Soon after Asteri opened, frequent reports of assault, instances of fires and overdoses in and around the building were filed. In addition, the police have responded to complaints about individuals sleeping outside the entrance, increased waste around the premises and public disturbances.
Chief of Police Thomas Kelly confirmed in an interview with The Sun that “Asteri has increased calls for service.”
Through regular surveillance checks and responses to the calls near Asteri, Kelly said that the Ithaca Police Department takes “a more proactive approach with Asteri to deter activity,” noting that this does detract from patrols and requires more resources than other sectors of the city.
Many of Asteri’s new residents had previously been living in outdoor encampments located in the First Ward. Since the 1920s, Ithacans have built a patchwork of makeshift encampments behind the city’s retail stores, an area so deeply entrenched in the community that it is known simply as the “the Jungle.”
“The Jungle” is riddled with debris. Discarded materials function as the roof of a home, a seat by the fire or a dog’s bed. Amid strewn needle caps, many residents struggle with heroin or meth addictions, while others are content living their nomadic lifestyle.
But recently, the population of “the Jungle” has diminished as many residents have relocated to Asteri.
One resident of three years, who was granted anonymity over privacy concerns, identified himself as a “drifter” of “the Jungle,” migrating from one encampment to the next. He spoke to The Sun in front of the tent-like structure where he resides. He said that there are fewer people in the “Jungle,” which has seen less violence as individuals migrate to the apartments.
“The new ‘Jungle’ is basically Asteri,” he said.
The source introduced his “sister,” who he later revealed was “not blood-related, but we look after each other.” For this resident, and others like him, “the Jungle” is not just a place for the homeless to shelter — it is a community,” he said.
“Honestly, I like the lifestyle,” the resident said. “Being homeless, being broke sucks. Not being able to get a job sucks. But this right here is like safety.”
“The Jungle,” however, has historically been fraught with crime and violence. In May of 2023, Tommy Rath, a “Jungle” resident, was tortured and murdered following heightened tensions with other residents. Shortly before the murder, Tompkins County deemed certain areas of “the Jungle” a safety hazard and ordered the city to initiate a cleanup effort.
According to a report jointly prepared by the City of Ithaca and Ithaca Central Railroad-Watco, a three-phase cleanup is scheduled to finish in February 2025, and a prevention plan has been put in place to prohibit the formation of future encampments, debris accumulation and illegal activity.
However, some Asteri residents fear that while “the Jungle” will soon be cleared, the issues experienced by the previous encampment’s inhabitants persist. Resident Sean Towsley described Asteri as “a mess.” He said that “putting that many people of that mindset in the same building is a poor choice.”
As someone who was previously incarcerated, Towsley said he feels unanchored in Asteri without the structured authority he had in prison.
“For me, it’s a catastrophe because I don’t have somebody right there 24/7 to help me do what I need to do,” Towsley said. “So I miss my appointments, my teeth hurt, I don’t make it to my doctor’s appointments.”
Towsley, along with several other Asteri residents, said that those who moved to the building from “the Jungle” are similarly struggling with the transition to a more structured living environment.
May Anne, an Asteri resident of six weeks said, “You have people who have mental illnesses and drugs. And when they’re mentally ill or ill in any way, they self-medicate, … and there are no resources.”
According to the building’s website, Asteri offers in-house support services from Tompkins Community Action, a local non-profit that aims to pull residents out of poverty. TCAction provides family support services, rental assistance and a food pantry program, among other resources. TCAction did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“They punch holes in the wall,” said Terra, an Asteri resident, about those who came from “the Jungle.” “There’s copper in the pipes, so the drug addicts are trying to get to that.” She further emphasized concerns about safety such as the broken keycard scanner.
“There should be security. I know the kids that live here, … and they’re scared,” Terra said.
Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo said that in supporting the Asteri project, Ithaca aims to offer affordable housing for “all residents at all income levels.” According to Cantelmo, “The city doesn’t own this property or manage it” and Ithaca’s involvement is limited to land use.
When asked about supporting formerly unhoused individuals in their transition from “the Jungle” to Asteri, Cantelmo said that “the city as an entity wasn’t involved in that process at all.” He directed The Sun to the Tompkins County Administrator, who oversees social services, and to the Vecino Group, Asteri’s property development and management company.
Both the County Administrator and the Vecino Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding residents’ safety concerns and Asteri’s transition measures.
As “the Jungle’s” population has moved into formal housing, May Anne hopes to see greater support for her new neighbors during this transition period.
“For them to go from out in ‘the Jungle’ to here, there should’ve been steps so they could be a better citizen and have a chance at whatever they want to pursue in life,” May Anne said.
Cereese Qusba ’27 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].
Correction, Dec. 5, 12:30 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Tommy Rath, a “Jungle” resident was tortured and murdered in May 2024. This actually occured in May 2023.