Good News for Bed Stuy and Crown Heights Armories?
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz isn’t giving his State of the Borough speech until tonight, but somehow The Daily News already knows that he’s going to trumpet support for creating state-of-the-art recreation centers at both the Bedford-Atlantic Armory and the Sumner Avenue Armories similar to the one that’s recently been completed in Park Slope. “Bedford…
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz isn’t giving his State of the Borough speech until tonight, but somehow The Daily News already knows that he’s going to trumpet support for creating state-of-the-art recreation centers at both the Bedford-Atlantic Armory and the Sumner Avenue Armories similar to the one that’s recently been completed in Park Slope. “Bedford Stuyvesant deserves it as much as Park Slope, and so does northern Crown Heights,” says the Beep, who will announce that he’s earmarking $1 million towards each project. (Council Member Tish James has pledged to come up with another $10 million for the Bedford project.) The contrast—with the comparatively wealthy neighborhood of Park Slope getting a fancy gymnasium while the poorer neighborhoods of Bed Stuy and Crown Heights get stuck with more than their fare share of homeless shelters—has not been lost on, well, just about anybody with any sense. The city however, continues to try to argue that Bedford Avenue is the most efficient place to locate the central intake center for the city even though the large majority of homeless are in Manhattan. To try to placate people in the neighborhood, the Department of Homeless Services has said it would build a $10 million rec center in the Bedford-Atlantic Armory, but only as a quid pro quo for moving the intake center there, a combo residents say (and we agree) won’t work. “The two cannot coexist,” Crown Heights Revitalization Movement co-founder Sandy Taggart.
Markowitz Wants to Turn Two Armories into Rec Centers [NY Daily News]
there are two types of homeless, the homeless who lose their home due to addiction, job loss, medical bills, and need help getting back on their feet. Then there’s the chronically homeless who need counseling to convince them it’s not better to be homeless. The visible homeless are often these latter types.
Actually men are easier to work with – I’m not talking about the criminally homeless – because they just do what they’re told. Anyone want to volunteer in a men’s homeless shelter with me? Email me.
interesting point, Rob…we were referring to the perception within community about safety, quality of life, etc…
quote:
…also big diff between women and men…
well then you havent heard of some of stories of female on female violence and drug use that is rampant in womens shelters. they are JUST as dangerous as mens homeless shelters.
*rob*
Marty has been fighting the Intake Center since day one. He doesn’t want it but he may not have much choice. CHN is already overburdened but the City’s logic in putting the central intake center here is beyond ludicrous. Location-wise, is is so far from being a central or convenient location, it may as well be in Siberia. Transportation, proximity to subways, no nearby medical facilities if needed- the only reason Bloomberg wants it here is so he can get it out of Manhattan.
The city did offer to build a rec center- if the neighborhood matched funds. Considering this is hardly wealthy Park Slope- who were not asked to contribute matching funds for their rec center- it was a slap in the face. The city knew the community could not raise that kind of money.
Why don’t we put homeless centers in Kennsington on Marty Markowitz’ new block? You know, the house in that neighborhood he just bought for $1.45 million partially funded by a slip and fall lawsuit. Marty is the type of guy who will praise himself as ($160,000 a year) a public servant, yet do the sleazy 1-800 Call a Lawyer stunt that in the end contributes to raising everyone’s insurance. Not to mention his french-kissing big developers who are bulldozing the borough – and have left half-finished monstrosities littering the landscape. This guy is the poster boy for Brooklyn corruption and sleaze. But Spike Lee loves him, so that helps, I guess.
Yes, the Park Slope Armory has a homeless shelter for women. It’s been there for years. Also the 168th Street Armory in Washington Heights, existed for decades as a homeless shelter and track and facilities for high school and college athletes throughout the 50s to the 90s.
It can co-exist.
She’s talking about the intake center…also big diff between women and men…there are already big quality of life issues associated with existing homeless shelter at Bedford Armory. just imagine what moving the central intake center for the entire city would mean.
All neighborhoods in New York should shoulder some portion of the City’s social service burden.
Some neighborhoods may need to shoulder more than their fair share, for a variety of economic and logistical reasons.
No neighborhood, however, should have to shoulder a wildly disproportionate share of these services.
The location of an intake center at Bedford-Atlantic would dramatically over-burden Crown Heights North.
The location of an intake center at Bedford-Atlantic would dramatically diminish the quality and accessibility of services for the homeless.
All neighborhoods should have appropriate access to parks and recreational facilities.
Crown Heights North and Bed-Stuy currently are underserved by parks and recreational facilities.
The City should implement the plan to build recreational facilities at these two locations.
Recreational facilities have been successfully co-located with certain types of homeless shelters, but not with intake centers, a homeless service that is uniquely ill-suited to such co-location.
For the record, the Armory at 8th Avenue & 15th Street contains a homeless shelter for women as well as the new athletic facilities.