Homeless

August 4, 2008

Fire Leaves 75 PLG Households Looking for Shelter

A six-alarm fire destroyed a portion of the top floor of an 84-unit apartment building in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens on Friday, leaving 23 firefighters and two civilians injured, and the residents essentially homeless. The fire took two hours and 250 firefighters to extinguish. Between 25 and 35 of the 75 households in the building were temporarily sheltered at a school this weekend, then in hotel rooms provided by the Red Cross, while others stayed with family and friends. City officials were reluctant to estimate when they could return &mdash a portion of the roof was removed to extinguish the blaze, and the electrical system that likely caused the fire is "a complete mess" and may need to be entirely replace. "They're doing some work to shore up the roof, but there's some trouble with the electrical system in the building ... that's what's keeping the building vacated," said the official, who asked not to be named. But a resident and friend told us she was advised to look for new housing. She said in retrospect she should have known there were problems with the electrical system because the lights would dim or flicker when she turned on her air conditioner, and electrical bills over the past few months have been erratic. But she never suspected it could be this serious. Although an investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, it originated in the space between the ceiling of the top floor and the roof and is believed to be wiring-related.

In addition to worrying about finding new housing, residents, many without renters insurance, are worried about their belongings and the expense of building new lives. Firefighters had to bash in apartment doors to check for victims and flames, and another resident said she saw someone on the fire escape next to her window the following day. Police are guarding the building, which is very large and has multiple entry points. Residents were only given 15 minutes to be escorted into their apartments so they could gather their most valuable possessions. Some were lucky enough to get in the evening of the fire by saying they had pets or medication inside. Those who had to sleep at the school or in hotel rooms had to leave their pets with friends. As the Red Cross's contract generally only lasts a few days, the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development will be responsible for providing shelter to anyone who is unable to find it independently.
Officials: Electric Wiring Sparked Brooklyn Blaze [WCBS]

June 26, 2008

Pols Gather to Pan Crown Heights Homeless Plan

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."
March, Rally Held Over Crown Heights Homeless Plan [Brownstoner]
Crown Heights Rally: Don't Dump On Us! [Brownstoner]
News Columnist: 'Shameful' Crown Heights Homeless Plan [Brownstoner]
Crown Heights Group Still Doesn't Want Homeless Center [Brownstoner]

June 13, 2008

March, Rally Held Over Crown Heights Homeless Plan

Yesterday afternoon Concilwoman Tish James led about a dozen activists on a march over the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the city's plan to move a homeless intake shelter from Manhattan to Crown Heights, according to the Daily News. The march ended at City Hall, where State Senator Eric Adams and Councilman Lew Fidler spoke out against the plan. "The entire city should share the burden of the...less fortunate," said Adams, who says he's going to bring the fight against the center's move to Albany.
Brooklyn Rally Rips Homeless Detour [NY Daily News]
Crown Heights Rally: Don't Dump On Us! [Brownstoner]
News Columnist: 'Shameful' Crown Heights Homeless Plan [Brownstoner]
Crown Heights Group Still Doesn't Want Homeless Center [Brownstoner]

June 2, 2008

Crown Heights Rally: Don't Dump On Us!

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It seemed like every politician in Brooklyn came to Crown Heights yesterday afternoon for a press conference/rally to decry the Department of Homeless Services' plan to move a Manhattan homeless intake center to the armory at Bedford and Atlantic. The city currently operates a 350-bed homeless shelter at the Crown Heights armory. One of the most forceful speakers at the event, which drew a crowd of about 75, was Borough President Marty Markowitz. As per the video above (apologies for the poor quality), Markowitz said moving the intake facility to Crown Heights would be bad for both Brooklyn and Manhattan. "Manhattan residents agree with us because their fear is that if they move the intake center to here, more of those that need services will chose not to come to Brooklyn and will stay on the streets of Manhattan," said the borough president. Other politicians who spoke included state senators Eric Adams and Velmanette Montgomery and Councilmembers Bill de Blasio and Tish James. Most of them stressed the fact that Crown Heights already shoulders its fair share of social services. "It's not a question of not in my backyard at all, media. We have done our fair share," said Councilmember James. "The need is in Manhattan. They have continued to build up Manhattan, and have accidents and dump on Brooklyn. And we have come here today to say, 'No more dumping on Brooklyn.'" James also talked about how she has been trying to get the city to build a recreation center, a la the one just completed in the Park Slope armory, for many years. Others mentioned that the city has been operating the current shelter at the Crown Heights armory in a shameful fashion. "We have had this ongoing battle to try to clean up this facility for many years, and we have still not gotten the city to pay attention," said State Senator Montgomery. "So now, rather than working with us to help bring the necessary support to the men in this facility...they are now going to dump another number of homeless men in this place that is not fit for the men who live here already." And Councilmember de Blasio spoke derisively about top-down city governance. "Wouldn't it have been nice if the City of New York had come to you and said, 'What should we do here? How can we improve the community?' But that's never the way the City of New York starts the discussion," said de Blasio. "It never goes to people who've been the backbone of the community and says, 'What's the right thing to do?'"
News Columnist: 'Shameful' Crown Heights Homeless Plan [Brownstoner]
Crown Heights Doesn't Want Homeless Intake Center [Brownstoner]

May 30, 2008

News Columnist: 'Shameful' Crown Heights Homeless Plan

This Sunday, the Crown Heights Revitalization Movement will hold a rally near the armory at Bedford and Atlantic where the city wants to import a homeless intake shelter from Manhattan. According to Daily News columnist Errol Louis, the event will draw a diverse group—"Young and old, black and Jewish, rich and poor"—of Crown Heights residents, since the city's plan has united the notoriously divided community in dissent. Louis argues that the "shameful plan" is "outrageous" because the men's shelter at the armory is already one of the worst in the city, allowing, as it does, Level-3 sex offenders to roam the neighborhood's streets during the day and allegedly turning blind eye to to all manner of violence underneath its roof. Louis argues that instead of bringing the Manhattan homeless shelter to Crown Heights, the city should completely shut down the Bedford facility: "After a quarter century of effort, DHS has brought disgrace upon itself and crime and violence to a struggling neighborhood that deserves better. Instead of compounding its failures, City Hall needs to stop the relocation plan dead in its tracks and focus on cleaning up the mess it has already made."
Shut Down This Nightmare [NY Daily News]
Crown Heights Doesn't Want Homeless Intake Center [Brownstoner]
Photo by ambr0sia2003.

May 13, 2008

Crown Heights Homeless Intake Plan Stirs Controversy

This morning Metro has an article about how the city's plan to close its homeless intake center on East 28th Street in Manhattan and move it to Crown Heights is being opposed by some homeless advocates and politicians. (News of the relocation effort broke last week.) On the Manhattan end, advocates believe that closing the Kips Bay facility, which has 850 beds in addition to being an intake center, will mean that more homeless people are on the street. On the Brooklyn end, City Councilmember Letitia James calls the proposal "misguided" since Crown Heights is “oversaturated” with social services. The city wants the new intake center to be in the armory at Bedford and Atlantic avenues, which already has a men's shelter. Dept. of Homeless Services Commissioner Rob Hess defends the move by saying that “People living on the street are not going to a centralized intake center.” The topic's been debated in comments here before, so we decided to open it up to a poll: