Homeless Intake Center Plan Provokes Broad Opposition
[nggallery id=”23562″ template=galleryview] 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…
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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.
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I don’t think any even former prison is a viable alternative, if only for the negative connotations. Homelessness is not a crime.(yet) Most homeless people, especially families, are the victims of fires and other personal disasters, or are fleeing abusive spouses, etc. Many other homeless people are actually working people, but just can’t find affordable housing, and the waiting lists for city properties are LOOONNGGG. Many other homeless people have mental illnesses that range from the treatable to those who need to be institutionalized. It is not their fault that they have slipped between the cracks and are the victims of budget cuts and cutbacks. They are not criminals unless they have committed a crime, and it sickens me that choices for these people seem to be staying in substandard, dangerous shelters, or taking your chances out on the street. I admire anyone who tries to help, and even those in city gov’t who take on the impossible task of trying to solve an unsolvable problem. But warehousing the homeless, or shuffling them around to adjust the numbers per borough or neighborhood is unacceptable in a civilized society.
Bxgrl : I believe the way it works is that the Homeless Intake Center (now at Bellevue Hospital on the East Side of Manhattan) is simply that — a place for intaking residents without a place to sleep/live that refers these individuals to other shelters in all of the buroughs. My guess is they would keep the current shelter in place, expand it a bit, but use the majority of the available space as a clearinghouse. People who needed a shelter would come, be evaluated and interviewed, and then sent to the shelter that was deemed best for them. You’d have foot traffic to and from the subway 24/7. If you’ve ever been near Bellevue you would notice that there are a lot of people walking around the area that seem a bit “off.” Most people think these are psych patients, and maybe some are, but I think the majority of them are homeless people (who may also have psychiatric issues) who are going through the intake process, waiting for word about where they are being sent. That’s also the kind of foot traffic we would be experiencing from Franklin to Nostrand, Fulton to probably Dean. You think the Police are something now? We’ll be wishing there were more of them around here if this comes to pass.
We should be prepared to help think of alternative solutions. Is there an empty/under-utilized facility that is close to a central subway stop? If it must be in Brooklyn (although I’m not sure why they need to move it at all — Manhattan is better for this kind of thing)it seems to me it really should be downtown. What about the prison that’s not being used near Boerum Hill (not that I’m trying to engage 11217 or anything).
I tremble. The rest of you- Get out now while you can! Save yourselves!!!
MacD and DIBS- in view of the whole finance issue, does the City actually view this as the most cost-effective way to deal with the homeless and will they then close the shelters in other boroughs to try to force the homeless to the Armory?
The Armory will be a dumping ground, not a shelter- they don’t have programs now for these men. Without funding they’ll get even less (if that’s possible) help. It can get so much worse because – and I’m guessing since I have no numbers- to the city’s way of thinking this is a cheapest (one shelter for all 5 boroughs)solution. On the other hand, the location is not easy for the homeless to get to. Since they would have to have money for the train- it discourages them from coming to the shelter in the first place- cheaper still. Of course this is the shortsighted, let’s not look at the actual impact kind of thinking that inflicts damage.
Yeah, Bxgrl, my middle aged self, complete with atrociously unfashionable walking shoes and my large camera, is a threat to the city. I looked more like a tourist at Buckingham palace than one of Osama’s minions. Hell, I even need to put on my reading glasses to see if my pictures are in focus. Quake in fear, New York, for I am here!
Wow MM- you must have made him think you were a terrorist or something. You have to stop thinking the explosive device on a beaded chain is a fashion statement 🙂
Since when can’t you stand next to the Armory? What’s next? Cement barriers in case some crazed little old Church Lady makes a run at the entrance? Cops in the turret doing sentry duty?
All I can think of is that this is a run up to sneaking in the expanded shelter before the community can take effective action. It’ll be that much harder to get out once it’s a done deal. It’s not out of the question- I’ve seen how the city dealt with firehouses so why not homeless shelters? So long as the city thinks working class neighborhoods are not important, this is how they’ll operate.
1842, according to State Senator Eric Adams, lawsuits are on their way. He’s also going to ask for an injunction to stop any actions that may be already taking place to implement the plan. The relocation of the intake center to our neighborhood is NOT a done deal, by any means.
Incidentally, for those who think Crown Heights people are just another bunch of NIMBYs who hate the homeless, someone told me last night that so many local churches have feeding programs at the Armory that the homeless can’t eat it all, and one of the problems for area residents is rotting food and rats in the area, as well as a lack of sanitary facilities. This just gets more and more absurd the more you hear. Obviously, the always open shelter, (according to Mr. Nashak), cannot accomodate the very basic sanitary needs of its residents. How the hell are they going to accomodate the needs of hundreds more people being processed?
I was walking up Pacific the other day, and stopped at the side of the armory to take some photographs of the area for a project I’m working on. A policeman came by and told me I couldn’t stand next to the building, and had to move on. He was pretty nice about it, but wasn’t having it when I said I was just taking photos. He said I could take all the pictures I want, but not on that side of the street. Directly across the street were about 10 homeless men who hang out there all day, every day. But they are on THAT side of the street. It was surreal.
Long story long, the sidewalks surrounding the armory are pristine and homeless free. The surrounding area, ie directly across the street, and on all of the adjacent corners- who cares, that’s not city property. And THAT is the problem.