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,…
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.
Thanks, bxgrl. You’ve inspired me to list the reasons for moving the shelter to the Police Academy:
— Proximity to Bellevue.
— One or two blocks from Cabrini Medical Center.
— Better subway access from Lexington Avenue subway than current facility.
— One block from Second Avenue subway (coming soon).
— Near Baruch College. (Good for higher-education ties and student interns. And did you know that the homeless have a higher college attendance rate than the general population? Maybe they can take courses to help ease them back into society.)
— Will get my Gramercy Park relatives into a twist. (Big bonus!)
NOP
If we close this place, where will the What live?
It’s great to see that so many posters realize this is not only bad for Crown Heights, but for all of Brooklyn and just plain bad policy by a Mayor who’s trying to shift Manhattan’s problems across the bridge. Errol’s article was right on. Time to rally!!
Bloomie and his fellow Manhattanites and their crazed appetite for luxury condos are the NIMBY’s, not longtime residents of Crown Heights on whom Manhattan is trying to dump these people. Please cease with that accusation, it’s totally mentally retarded.
we love you Nostalgic!
bxgrl
12:13:
I’m sorry, I can’t just stop myself!
I just imagined various family members air kissing the “level three sexual predators” on their way into their new digs.
And maybe Ian Shrager can contribute leftovers from his Gramercy Park Hotel.
On the serious side, if moving the shelter to the Police Academy (which is pretty reasonable, I think) sets off alarm bells for any posters here, imagine what people in Crown Heights must feel.
NOP
12:134- you expected someone to come up with a detailed, fully researched plan in one morning? Your post was a general one and was answered in kind. And frankly, since you’re so intelligent, why didn’t you come up with any answers?
But for starters, there are underutilized armories in Manhattan. And buildings that needn’t be torn down for yet anothe luxury hotel or fancy condo or bloated office space (of which Manhattan is way too full of). And yes- DHS might respond to a sound alternative plan- although judging by the history of this particular administration, I doubt anything will change their minds.
But if you’re really so interested in alternatives why ask someone else for answers? Take responsibility yourself and do the research and come up with a solution. In an hour. Good luck with that- don’t forget the maps, building stats and the background checks for violations, transportation hubs, neighborhood services, and feasibility studies. Oh- and, do it for your neighborhood too. Let’s see how much it takes for your nimbyism to come out. My neighborhood’s done its fair share- what about yours?
12:13:
Here’s one. The buildings about to be abandoned by the Police Academy on East 21st Street. They’re big (go through the block) and not far from the existing shelter with its proximity to Bellevue.
Wouldn’t my family living down at Gramercy Park love it?
Nostalgic on Park Avenue
“Every neighborhood – it’s a big city, you know- should do its fair share. Like it or not. there’s plenty of places in Manhattan that aren’t completely residential, and Harlem should not be the dumping ground. And rich neighborhoods should have social services too.”
This is such a typical and unhelpful response, as it focuses only on where the shelter should not be, rather than helping to identify the most suitable alternative.
If in Manhattan, where in Manhattan? if in wealthy neighborhoods, which buildings? That is why this approach risks failure, because it seeks only to stop, not to solve. At this stage, all DHS has to say is “there is no alternative” and proceed with the plan to move operations to the bedford shelter.
The armory was chosen because of space requirements and the fact that shelter programs for the homeless already exist onsite. The latter is especially important, because it helps to streamline the new operation.
In the end, DHS, caring only about furthering their goal of adjusting service delivery, will be convinced only by a sound alternative plan, not another NIMBY protest.