An Athletic Center for the Atlantic Armory?
There’s no reason for Park Slope to be running circles around Crown Heights—at least as far as the neighborhoods’ respective armories are concerned. That’s the case Councilwoman Letitia James has been making lately by saying the armory on Bedford and Atlantic, which currently houses a men’s homeless shelter, should be revamped with a youth-oriented athletic…
There’s no reason for Park Slope to be running circles around Crown Heights—at least as far as the neighborhoods’ respective armories are concerned. That’s the case Councilwoman Letitia James has been making lately by saying the armory on Bedford and Atlantic, which currently houses a men’s homeless shelter, should be revamped with a youth-oriented athletic center a la the Park Slope armory’s recent renovation. James stumped for the idea when she met with Deputy Mayor Patti Harris last week and is also trying to rally broader community support for the proposal. The councilwoman envisions a track-and-field facility aimed at young adults that would further benefit the community by improving the area’s social milieu. It’s offensive to me to drive by Atlantic and Bedford and see all the panhandlers outside, she says. It’s an eyesore.
The Future of the Atlantic Armory? [Brownstoner]
Last Lap for Park Slope Armory Renovation [Brownstoner]
I am sure a track and field/athletic facility will be great for the kids in the neighborhood. You can’t have a track and field facility just anywhere – it works here.
I am sure a track and field/athletic facility will be great for the kids in the neighborhood. You can’t have a track and field facility just anywhere – it works here.
Good point, 12:01. Let’s move all of the upstate prisons into Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, Brownsville and ENY. I’m for it.
They put the social service facilities in the areas where they are needed.
I’d guess there arent that many former Brooklyn Heights residents who are homeless and I’d also guess that the number of Park Slope felons who get released to halfway houses is relatively tiny.
If that is the case why are all the prisons upstate, and why are they filled with prisoners from downstate?
“If you are from Bed-Stuy and you are homeless and they shipped you off to some other distant area for shelter, people would complain they were warehousing the homeless away from their neighborhoods and families.”
We aren’t talking about shipping the homeless to Siberia, or even Watertown, NY, we are entertaining the concept of having a shelter in say….Park Slope, or BoCoCa, hardly the ends of the earth. And as HomeSweetStuy and rf point out, many of the men at this particular shelter are indeed from out of the community. Also, they aren’t likely to have family or visitors. Unfortunately, they are probably quite alone, which is part of the reason they are homeless and in this last ditch shelter.
Long story short, I agree that in this case, for this armory, a smaller shelter, and larger community usage would be able to serve the entire community, and would be a great asset to Crown Heights.
Has anyone actually been in here?
no one wants that shelter in their neighborhood. The reason the city uses armories instead of building facilities is that no neighborhood would let it get built nearby.
Also, this stuff affects poor neighborhoods more because wealthy neighborhoods are better able to fight against it. There are some notorious shelters in rich neighborhoods. there’s a halfway house for mentally ill (of something along those lines) in Bklyn heights that drives everyone crazy. If you ask the police in the district, they all know about it b/c they get tons of calls from it.
None of us are urban planner. How to build facilities to serve the needs of clients w/o impacting the neighborhood is an extremely difficult problem.
This is a shelter for single men, acknowledged by all to house the homeless that are thrown out of other facilities and are housed as a last resort, plus their victims who are so screwed up that they can’t advocate for themselves. It does no good for struggling families that need shelter to have this in their neighborhood.
I have spoken to some of the inhabitants of this shelter and they say its an absolute misery inside and that they would rather sleep in the street than in the shelter except in the worst weather conditions. It seems that theshelter is not doing its job very well.
Further, i have to agree with some of the other posters, this is a huge building. Its totally and completely beautiful and the community would really be better served if it was converted into something that actually serves the community (meaning the people who live in the surrounding area). The residents of the shelter are often sent there from other parts of town–a good portion of them aren’t actually from the community–which is probably why a good portion of them do not have any respect for the community. The amount of trash and other nastiness laying around outside that shelter (presumably left by the shelterees but I am making an assumption) and the cat calling and harassment inflicted on passersby are evidence that there is no respect for the services being provided to them. Personally, my vote is for a smaller shelter in the building that is better maintained (and not a place where the homeless avoid–it defeats the purpose)and a large community center for athletics, events and whatnot. Maybe incorp something that creates jobs and rehbilitation for the homeless within the center. let’s make the center productive instead of a dreaded last resort.
Good point, 3:35. Poor neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights will surely have a higher proportion of homeless folks. It makes sense to house and treat them in their own communities, not ship them off to some distant area. It’s interesting that many are so quick to claim the poor when advocating for affordable housing, yet quick to call for their removal when their various social and psychological problems create an “eyesore” for bourgeois politicians.