Quote of the Day
As much as I’d like to be generous about this and say “But the homeless need a place too” I’d like to point out the difference in day to day quality of life which occcurred in Fort Greene as SOON as the previous residential hotel for homeless men opposite BAM (the parking lot adjacent to…
As much as I’d like to be generous about this and say “But the homeless need a place too” I’d like to point out the difference in day to day quality of life which occcurred in Fort Greene as SOON as the previous residential hotel for homeless men opposite BAM (the parking lot adjacent to Mark Morris is there now) was closed and then demolished. Before – when there were hundreds of beds there – Fort Greene had our garbage cans stolen almost weekly, plants stolen, other petty crime, agressive squeegee guys and radios stolen. In a famous rant Garrison Keillor – who briefly broadcast from BAM back then – talked about walking up Flatbush Ave. to BAM and noting all of the “No Radio” signs in the windows of almost every car asked “When I’m recording a radio show, it kind of makes me wonder ‘why bother?’.” In those days I’d have my battery stolen then I’d walk down to Park Ave. to a place that sold re-habbed batteries and buy back the one they’d stolen the week before. As soon as the building was demolished and services moved elsewhere, this constant background of petty crime stopped. Given the current financial turmoil, I’d want homeless New Yorkers to be given the best treatment possible. I think they deserve Manhattan condos.
— by Stonergut in Shelter Woes Spread From Crown Heights to Bed Stuy
Similar stats for James’s district, especially when you take into account the gentrification of Fort Greene and Prospect Heights:
http://www.tstc.org/reports/cpsheets/NYCcouncil_factsheet_district%2035.pdf
To back up bkn4life: the Sumner Avenue Armory is in Councilmember Vann’s district. The Bedford-Atlantic Armory is just across the line in Tish James’s district. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign has stats for car ownership in Vann’s district here:
http://www.tstc.org/reports/cpsheets/NYCcouncil_factsheet_district%2036.pdf
Percent of households earning less than $40,000 a year: 70.2
Percent of households without a vehicle: 71.4
Average annual income of households with a vehicle: $53,475
Average annual income of households without a vehicle: $26,376
Not far off at all.
to iknow…
its a swag, but an effective one.
in that area there was this seedy hotel with homeless folks. lets say 200 of them. going northish the tallest projects in the city.
to the south a dense rundown neighborhood. and you are in the third densest county in the country. and many commercial streets where you cant park for days at a time.
because i am stubborn, ill stick by the 1%. but ill wager you a case of beer that its not far off. nowhere near a car per person in the brownstone area. 80 buildings per block, 4 apartments per building, approximately 3(families) residents per apartment. thats 960 people per residential block. there may be parking for 2 cars per house so its 800 dont have a car and 160 do even on a low density block. 80% dont have a car in the best of circumstances. add in the projects and it goes way down.
bxgirl–where were you last night?
I totally agree that Bed Stuy and Crown Heights have been disproportionately dumped on in re homeless shelters. The problem is nobody wants them and they have to be somewhere. But more equitable distribution and smaller, better managed facilities would probably help.
Wow I didn’t realize only the top 1% of the wealthiest can afford cars in Brooklyn. That boro is poorer than I, or anyone, imagined. So where did you get those stats bklyn4life?
the only thing i dont get is why worse neighborhoods arent getting picking. Crown heights isnt the best, but it’s got a solid middle class base.
Why dont they pick on Brownsville or the S Bronx or something?
wasder and lowintheheights- the thing to remember is that Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy are a dumping ground for these types of shelters. There are plenty of liberals here and dealing with the numerous shelters and facilities. All we’re saying is be fair and respectful. CHN and Bed-Stuy have far more than their fair share- now its time for other neighborhoods to do their part. It’s not liberals saying no to shelters, it’s about everyone saying enough is enough.
jfss:
are you really feeling victimized over a philco?
Blame the victims bkn4life. Right.