Brooklyn residents won another round in court today in their attempt to stop a homeless shelter from opening in Crown Heights. A judge agreed with two block associations and dozens of local residents who argued that more discussion was needed to assess the impact of opening a men's shelter at 1173 Bergen Street. The judge's temporary restraining order prevents the shelter from opening for now.
The proposed facility is one of 90 that Mayor de Blasio wants to open in the five boroughs over the next five years. In a statement, the Department of Homeless Services said the City of New York is "undeterred in our commitment to opening this site." DHS wants to keep people who are homeless close to where they last lived. But residents in low-income neighborhoods say they are oversaturated with shelters already.
Did the judge make the right ruling today in delaying the opening of another Crown Heights homeless shelter? What message does it send to the de Blasio administration? If you live near a shelter already, does it have any significant impact on your neighborhood? If you don't agree with the plan to add 90 facilities, what ideas do you have to combat this trend?
Natasha’s Thoughts
It’s always important for residents to have a say in the makeup of their neighborhood. But hopefully, both sides can come to a compromise as these new shelters are greatly needed amid the growing homelessness crisis. In the meantime, the City should also focus on efforts to help people stay out of shelters and in their homes in those neighborhoods.
Viewer E-mails
Welcome to another episode of deBlahBlahBlasssioooo's Shelter Shell Game At the rate of 100 beds per shelter ..and a 6 month court fight on each one ...the democratic party will be trying to posthumously name something after him.....maybe the Stables for the Horse Drawn Carriages ..before he makes a dent in the rising homeless problem ...that wasn't even a problem till RECENTLY in his MIND !
Mark
Upper East Side
Everyone needs a home, but where is the big question.
Roscoe
Park Hill
I will not agree with the shelter, I thought about it and the homeless now refuse to go to shelters because of the conditions .why would you open 90 shelters if people refuse to use them.Arrest your slumlords. If they do not fix violations then take over the buildings and house the homeless. Joe from Maspeth
Make it like Airbnb but for homeless people. Owners receive a per diem, family environment increases likelihood rebuilding ones confidence?
David upper east side
We never discuss the security elements necessary to run a safe shelter. Folks might be more inclined to work with this if there was equal focus on how safe they can be.
Dan
Battery Park
HOMELESS IS NOT NECESSARY A CHOICE WHO ARE THEY TO CHOIOSE WHERE ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE A PLACE TO LAY THERE HEADS!!! BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE RICH WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD THE COST OF AFFORDABLE LIVING!
OH BUY THE WAY TELL YOUR 4 YR OLD HAPPY BELATED B"DAY!!!
TIMOTHY FROM HARLEM
Just talk the Homeless
As I do
The people who work at the shelters often treat the Homeless with disdain and disrespect !
These workers and safety officers don't like the Homeless and look down upon them !
We provide beds at Churches &
Temple s
Our Volunteers encourage our our Homeless clients and treat them with respect !
Christina
Upper Eastside
It's too bad that the 11.6 mil used to defend the mayor's administration couldn't be used to build permanent housing for the homeless.
Personally, our progressive mayor should sell his homes to pay back the 11.6 mil and convert same into permanent housing for the homeless.
Carey from the Bronx
I think de Blasio needs to put more thought in his plan. Throughout, being mayor he has made very quick decisions with out thought. I think before his plan fully happens he should look it over.
Logan
Lower east side
RIght now Homes & Renewal has no idea how many empty units that are empty are need repair. Same goes for HPD.
Solution: Ft. Totten has housing that need to be repaired. Have a work program to repair & maintain these buildings for ppl to live in.
Frankie D
Don't at least some of the homeless have family or friends who can take them in at least temporarily? I know that if a family member or friend of mine were in a shelter or on the street I'd help them.
Perhaps, at least some of these people are recent arrivals to NYC. However, why any person would come to a very expensive place like NYC without a job or any money is beyond me.
Good luck Mayor DiBlasio!
Jack from Kew Gardens
Columbia University and NYU have no problem pushing out, buying up and getting zoning rights to build huge buildings on large swaths of property. Why don't they team with the city, or the city team and or demand from them, they come up with a solution and invest tens of millions of dollars they derive in communities, education and work for the homeless.
Steve from Brooklyn
I am an upper east side resident and would welcome a homeless shelter in my neighborhood.
I have worked at a homeless organization and found it to be a very rewarding job. I currently work for a program that provides food to disadvantaged families.
I think all neighborhoods should share the responsibility of helping disadvantaged people and no neighborhood should be singled out or expected to house more shelters than others.
I have lived in Manhattan for over 20 years. I see homeless people all over Manhattan and have never felt threatened by their presence. On the contrary I feel saddened to see them and wish I could do more to help them.
They deserve a roof over their heads like everyone else.
And, what about all of the super towers going up all over the city that block residents views, light, and air? If we can allow housing for the 1% we can also allow housing for homeless people!
Liz
If we are paying higher real estate property taxes we shouldn't have to live next to a homeless shelter... If we have to pay more then we should have the right to decide..
Christina -Middle Village, Queens
If the city agrees on shelters then they should be distributed equally across NYC. Concentrating them only in poor areas only widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
In this day and age we have the technology to all vote on this. I’m sure you’ll have more shelters in park slope and Tribeca if that were the case.
Jonathan
Woodside
The state of homelessness has gotten completely out of hand.
I think the answer is to leave the city at some point. At some point, you have to realize that maybe the cost of living has become unaffordable and it may be time to go.
Just because you couldn't make it in New York City doesn't mean you can't make it elsewhere.
J
The federal government needs to step in and build beautiful, well resourced shelters in secluded areas away from the public.
Phil, Staten Island
My grandmother was one of those old school Irish women who never stopped teaching me the basic prayer: "There but for the grace of God go I."
Why do we have such an easy time labeling people with the catch all label "homeless?"
As a teacher I know many of my kids are not homeless through any fault of childhood. It is not the kids fault that a parent lost a job or fell victim to an addiction.
As a human being I am often scared by people we have all collectively written off due to mental health issues who seem to be the dictionary image of homelessness but really are just a fraction of those who really are just subjects of bad luck in a rapidly changing economy.
What to do?
1) Suck it up as a group and decide what we are and are not willing to do for the least of our brothers and sisters who really can not take care of themselves. They are not free people making free choices, they are sick and need us to help them.I do not pretend to be wise enough to know how but I respect mental health professionals who just might.
2) We already have the infrastructure for job training - open our public schools as evening community colleges where local businesses and teachers help improve our communities.
3) Yes, keep families in their neighborhoods and lets stop calling people with bad luck "homeless" and call them our neighbors.
4) Lets actually have the mayor get off his rump and enforce city rules about safety and hygiene in housing. The fact is it is easy to talk talk talk your political game but we all see the cops pushing the poor guys and gals who can't care for themselves onto the subway lines like the F and M into the outer parts of the city to make it look like he's cleaned up Manhattan when things are as tough as they ever were on all of us.
5) Maybe your grandmother said it different but never forget: "There but for the grace of God go I."
Thanks for caring-
You guys are the best.
Tom in Ridgewood
No disrespectto the previous caller from Rego Park, but I to work two jobs and live in Harlem where currently the rents have risen to the point that even longtime residents like myself can barely afford to remain here yet my community is saturated with homeless shelters. Striver's Row, with it's multimillion dollar homes, are 5 blocks from 2 shelters. There are shelters within one block of one another. If you live in a city with people are homeless then you should be prepared to do all that you can to assist the homeless population no matter where they are from. If your community has a space that be can be converted into quality housing especially for seniors and families with children why wouldn't you want to assist those individuals? Sounds just like the "not in my backyard" opinion.
Lanette
Harlem
Why doesn't the diBlasio administration use all the vacant City-owned buildings as shelters. instead of giving them to developers to create millon-dollars condo
Eddey
Woodhaven, queens
More shelters are nice, as there is a clear need, but they won't improve the issue. By legal definition, people staying in a shelter are still homeless. While there is a need, I support resistance to shelter expansion, in part, because it will force the mayor to confront the causes of homelessness more openly and actively than he is now, if at all.
-Nick
Flushing
I live on the UES, there is a dramatic and visible uptick of homeless on the streets just in last few weeks. Tonight walking the five blocks from subway I was asked for money four times (and saw a fifth settled in for night on sidewalk). The shelter situation has been going on a long time, something else must be triggering the uptick. Regardless more needs to be done.
Mary
CAN SOMEONE TELL US. HOW SO MANY BROOKLYNITES AND MANHATTANITES STATEN ISLAND TYPES INTERNALIZED A DELUSIONAL FANTASY ABOUT TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HOMELESS FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS NOT EVER BEING AROUND THEM.
TOO MANY CLUELESS NYERS COMPLAIN ABOUT THE CITY NOT DOING ENOUGH TO KEEP "THOSE PEOPLE AWAY. THESE SAME PEOPLE DEMAND THAT THE CITY PROVIDE THEM WITH ALL KINDS OF TAX-PAYER SUPPORTED SERVICES THAT CANNOT BE GIVEN TO EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD.
WAKE UP PEOPLE! DEMAND MORE FROM NYC's WEALTHY ELITE WHO ARE PAYING THE LOWEST LEVELS OF PERSONAL AND CORPORATE INCOME TAXES IN AMERICA'S HISTORY.
THANKYOU.
AUSAR/AUSET --UPPER EASTSIDE
I live blocks away from a shelter in my neighborhood of Arverne. I have no problem with housing the homeless in any community as long as it is divided evenly throughout all neighborhoods across the city.
People should also take into account their councilman's relationship with the Mayor on approving and making deals to house the homeless in their district.
Last, someone needs to watch these people who stay in these shelters because a lot of the people in the shelters are not doing anything to improve their situation, they are just hanging around the neighborhood begging for money
Jeffrey from the Rockaways
Why can't the buildings that are being used for shelters be transferred and refurbished into permanent apt. Buildings?
Dee
Manhattan
It's time to for Nyc..to stop crushing the Middle Class..which created this out of control Homeless....shut this Shelters down..make a "Intake System"..straight to Lower income apartment's. .Nycha..and HUD. .buildings. ...Thanks _
Thaddeus,East Harlem
In the 2980's there were 61 billionaires in the U.S. Now, there are 540 billionaires. My question is, is there a correlation between the number of billionaires and the number the homeless?
Peter Forest Hills
So Kathleen from Rego Park has worked really hard to live in a neighborhood without shelters. So the people of CH have not! This is the attitude that is perpetuating a Tale of Two Cities.
|Fior Ortiz-Joyner