An unhinged homeless man who terrorized Manhattan’s Gramercy Park neighborhood for nearly a year was institutionalized in a mental ward — a day after The Post highlighted the woes of locals who deal with him, officials said.
Sheldon Shrouder, 47, was picked up by cops on Jan. 17 on criminal mischief charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment building on Lexington Avenue near East 25th Street and causing damage to a trash compactor room and a tool bag, the NYPD said Friday.
Officers then brought Shrouder, who has been referred to as Howard in the neighborhood, to Bellevue Hospital for a psychological evaluation and have continued to follow up to ensure he gets mental health services.
“The 13th Precinct has been in constant communication with Bellevue Hospital so Sheldon Shrouder receives long-term care,” a police spokesperson said Friday.
“First off, I’d say thank you to the people at the 13th Precinct and Bellvue Hospital for helping to address what was the situation that was getting out of control and an issue that clearly needed to be addressed,” New York City Council Majority Leader Keith Powers told The Post Friday.
“I’m grateful that we were able to solve the issue,” he added.
Residents of the Lexington Avenue building previously told The Post that Shrouder had repeatedly got into their building and, in one instance, defecated in the compact room.
Locals said they repeatedly called 911 and 311, but nothing was ever done to address their issues or to get Shrouder any mental health services.
Police also charged Shrouder with three other petit larceny crimes that occurred in the building between September and December last year. In each instance, he snatched the tip jar from inside the building, cops said.
