At noon yesterday Manhattan and Brooklyn politicians gathered on the steps of City Hall to speak out against the city’s plan to move a homeless intake shelter from Kips Bay to the Crown Heights armory at Bedford and Atlantic. Speakers included Coucilmembers Tish James, Bill de Blasio and Al Vann; Borough Presidents Marty Markowitz and Scott Stringer; Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; and representatives from homeless advocacy organizations and a Crown Heights neighborhood group. Some politicians who weren’t even present made their feelings known: A letter from Comptroller Bill Thompson addressed to the mayor was circulated that signaled Thompson’s opposition to the center’s move. Thompson’s letter said, in part, that “the failure to use an open and transparent process has alienated both the affected communities and advocates for the homeless.” At the rally Markowitz talked about how Crown Heights already shoulders its “fair share” of social services, while Stringer said that there’s “a homeless crisis on our island the likes of which we’ve never seen,” and that if the center is moved to Brooklyn, tens of thousands of homeless people will wind up on the streets of Manhattan. Gotbaum said that her office had received complaints about the “deplorable” conditions at the Bedford armory and that selling the Manhattan center for the construction of a luxury hotel is “just outrageous.”
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