Homeless Intake Center Plan Provokes Broad Opposition

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Community outrage at the city’s plan to relocate the the homeless intake center for all five boroughs to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory in Crown Heights reached fever pitch last night at a special Community Board 8 meeting attended by Deputy Commissioner of the City’s Department of Homeless Services George Nashak and three of his staff members. In his introductory remarks, Nashak emphasized that as part of the plan to bring the intake center to the armory, Crown Heights would be benefiting from a net reduction in beds from 350 to 230. This didn’t fly with the crowd, one of whom pointed out that this reduction would really only result in Crown Heights having four times the number of beds of the average neighborhood from five. Several members of the audience tried to paint a picture for Nashak of what a negative impact the homeless shelter has on the surrounding area—and were met with pat, bureaucratic answers. One man who had recently spent three months in the armory shelter because of mental illness described crack being smoked openly and sex being solicited, which contrasted sharply with Nashak’s efforts to talk up DHS’s track record and reliability going forward. The combined effect: Nashak came off looking out of touch with the reality of the situation in and around the shelter. Anger mounted, and several local residents, including a Roman Catholic priest who had grown up and works in the neighborhood, boiled the issue down to one of respect and race. “This neighborhood has always been treated like a dumping ground…This process would not have happened this way in Bay Ridge. All we’re asking is that you treat us with respect.” Several residents pointed out that the community had spent decades lifting itself up by its bootstraps and now that it was finally reaping the fruits of its labors, the city was trying to push it back down again. “[This plan] shows the highest level of disrespect to the community,” said State Senator Eric Adams, vowing to challenge DHS in court. (In addition to Adams, reps of Mayor Bloomberg, Councilmember Avella, and Senator Montgomery were also in the audience.) Letitia James closed out the meeting calling for the closure of the Peter Young shelter, which is around the corner from the armory and houses a significant number of sex offenders and encouraging residents to attend a State Assembly hearing on the shelter relocation that will take place on September 19 at 10 a.m. in room 1923 at 250 Broadway in Manhattan. Perhaps the most moving moment of the evening was when one elderly woman described the sense of hope and optimism the community had had when Roger Green had first put forth the plan for turning the armory into a community center, and it was in turn approved by the Parks Department and Community Board 8, only to watch Park Slope have its armory spiffed up into a beautiful athletic facility while the residents of Crown Heights were left with a shelter and all the problems that come with it. “This is an insult to the community,” she said. Indeed it is.
Pols Gather to Pan Crown Heights Homeless Plan [Brownstoner]
March, Rally Held Over Crown Heights Homeless Plan [Brownstoner]