'It's prison': Hundreds in Bushwick shelter go weeks without showers

BUSHWICK, N.Y. - Hundreds of people staying at this Bushwick shelter have not had access to a shower in weeks.

This is the reality for asylum seekers staying at this Bushwick shelter on Stockton Street.

Twenty-one-year-old, Ely from Mauritania says the conditions inside the shelter on 359 Stockton Street are terrible, with just one working bathroom on the sixth floor.

Most of the people we spoke to outside the shelter on Monday are seeking refuge here from countries like Mauritania, Angola, and Chad.

"I come running from my country. My country is hell. It hurts to tell you my story. It hurts to tell you the story. I can’t. But we hope the situation can be changed one day," Ely tells us.

A security guard here told FOX 5 NY's Christine Russo that the building is brand new and showers weren’t ready by the time the city started using the building as a shelter. 

She said the showers should be operational ‘soon’.

In the meantime, the local community has stepped up. People have posted information about where to find other shower locations, on the fence of a community garden across the street.