This Is What They Want to Dump on Crown Heights
To illustrate the claim that the NYPD is increasingly ignoring quality of life crimes, The Post zeroes in on the activity around the 30th Street Men’s Shelter on First Avenue, the intake center that the City is trying to relocate to the Atlantic Armory in Crown Heights. (The Coalition for the Homeless discusses why this…
To illustrate the claim that the NYPD is increasingly ignoring quality of life crimes, The Post zeroes in on the activity around the 30th Street Men’s Shelter on First Avenue, the intake center that the City is trying to relocate to the Atlantic Armory in Crown Heights. (The Coalition for the Homeless discusses why this is a bad idea here.) Post reporters spent four days earlier this month watching “as large gangs of men loitered around-the-clock” outside the 30th Street Men’s Shelter on the grounds of Bellevue Hospital. “We’re scared to go outside,” said Annie Samuel, 55, a nurse at nearby Bellevue Hospital. “When we go home, we always travel in groups.” Given the recent incident involving a female doctor at Brooklyn, the comment rings all the more true. Crown Heights already has more than its fair share of homeless services—its residents don’t deserve more.
‘Scared to Come to New York’ [NY Post]
Shelter Woes Spread From Crown Heights to Bed Stuy [Brownstoner]
Homeless Intake Center Plan Provokes Broad Opposition [Brownstoner]
Photo by Geneva25 on Flickr
The A and C are less than 10 minutes from the Armory. Most people that work for a living and pay rent walk the same distance. That armory should be turned into a rec/community center for residents of bed-stuy/crown heights but it will never happen as the city doesn’t think they’re are worth it.
I say put them in the Wall St. area- so the Republicans and financial schmucks who screwed the country get to see the real cost. Now Obama gets to try to fix their mess- he’s certainly not the cause of it (but only those with short memories would not get that.)
Put the homeless in any area in Brooklyn that voted for Obama. Hope, change, homeless.
And, in addition to what bxgrl said, since the system provides next to nothing in terms of counselling, job training, or even make-work, several hundreds more men will be wandering around residential neighborhoods all day, or hanging out near the armory, waiting for it to open for the night. Once in Brooklyn, they don’t have the money to leave. This is not good for the neighborhood, or the homeless, especially in the winter and in inclement weather.
And lest people think they are not affected, it is not a far walk to Bed Stuy, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, or Clinton Hill/Fort Greene. Everyone will be affected by this. It just doesn’t make sense.
mopar- they want to expand the facility into an intake center for the whole city. All homeless would be directed to the armory and then dispersed to various facilities and service providers from there. Some would stay in the armory shelter.
It’s crappy on a lot of levels- the majority of homeless are in Manhattan, coming out here is a big trip, especially because this is not a centralized location, they would then have to walk back to the A/C line to go elsewhere, it dumps more services on a neighborhood already saturated with them, and really doesn’t do much to help the homeless.
But the Crown Heights Armory already is a homeless men’s shelter. And they had a fire there last week. I am confused.
DIBS – I wouldn’t fight it … but I don’t imagine that it’d make it to reality there. Too much money and (therefore) power.
Maybe they should use the Atlantic Yards site. 😛
The A and C are a big walk to the Armory. On a cold night? Bad weather? Not wonderful- and many homeless men have serious physical problems. the Armory is hardly easy or convenient to get to.
that said- how about keeping some big shelters in Manhattan. I hate the Bloombergian concept that the outer boroughs exist simply to serve Manhattan needs.
There is also a serious absence of hospital facilities. Since the closure of Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, there are NO hospitals in Crown Heights proper. Since many of the homeless are in need of physical and mental health care, it makes no sense to have them sent to a neighborhood that doesn’t have any readily available. Having the intake facility near Bellevue, for all of the quality of life concerns that causes, makes sense. Drug treatment, alchohol detox, mental health wards and general health care is readily available.