New York, NY —

City officials continue to try to sweeten the deal for Crown Heights residents who don't want a homeless intake center in their community.

REPORTER: The city wants to turn the Bedford-Atlantic Armory from a men's shelter into a central processing spot for homeless men. During an assembly hearing on the matter, Homeless Services Commissioner Rob Hess pledged to put up half the cash to turn part of the armory into a recreation center the community requested. He says the troubled facility is making a turnaround.

HESS: I view this overall plan as an opportunity to continue that progress, to make it as small a facility as possible with tremendously rich services and a lot of security and really make it a positive community member.

REPORTER: Brooklyn lawmakers, including Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, say Hess's plan is no compromise, because Crown Heights is already saturated with social services.

The city wants to create a homeless intake center in Brooklyn because the current one near Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan is getting turned into a hotel and needs to be vacated by June.

Advocates say more than 11,000 men used the Manhattan facility during the first four months of this year.