Homelessness and ‘Build it Bigger’
COURIER LIFE, JAN. 29-FEB. 4, 2021 23
OP-ED
BY MAURICE H. KOLODIN
Homelessness. Is it a neverending
problem? Or, is it a
problem because it’s kept everperpetuating?
Work on it — not
solve it — modify how you are
doing it, work on it some more,
remodify what you are doing,
work on it some more. Then,
go back to the beginning and
repeat all of the steps — but
never solve the problem!
Bill de Blasio became
mayor seven years ago. For the
fi rst three-plus years he did
nothing special to solve homelessness.
In 2017, the last year
of his fi rst term as mayor, he
commenced his Turn the Tide
program. This gave him something
to campaign about: He
would “solve” homelessness if
re-elected. He got re-elected.
He didn’t solve homelessness!
What did he do? See my fi rst
paragraph.
Now, in the fi nal year of his
fi nal term, he wants to close
360 homeless “cluster sites”
citywide and end the use of
commercial hotel facilities for
the homeless. What’s the big
new “solution”? Open 90 “mega
traditional shelters” citywide
and expand about 30 existing
shelters (i.e. make them megasized).
For all of us non-math
majors, his solution is to go
from 360-plus small sites to 120
mega sites. Solution? Again,
see fi rst paragraph!
In our area, he wants to
open a site at 100 Neptune Ave.
It is referred to as being in
Brighton Beach. Technically
correct. However, across the
street, northward, is Sheepshead
Bay; and across the
street, southeasterly, is Manhattan
Beach. The site is at a
multi-street crossroads. Also,
while the site is physically located
in Community District
13, the other two areas are in
Community District 15. This
would make this a joint Interest
matter as it is on the border
of two community districts.
The mayor’s Department of
Homeless Services tried to ignore
this. Sorry guys, you got
caught!
Let us now consider this
new proposed site and its “appropriateness.”
The building
itself is two-stories high and,
in total, about 30,000-squarefeet
in size. While now empty,
it had been, for many years,
an auto repair shop. The likelihood
of toxic materials being
there, and having to be remediated
is great. This is not
a cheap procedure and itself
could cause toxic materials to
bleed into adjacent properties.
All this exists before the cost of
construction to try to convert
a commercial building into a
residential building.
Did I mention that the site
also happens to be in Flood
Zone 1? That means if you spill
a container of coffee outside of
the building, the building has
to be evacuated due to fl ooding!
During Superstorm Sandy, the
Bel Air apartment building located
across the street from
the site on East 12th Street had
over 7 feet of water in the building.
Federal guidelines recommend
any buildings being
constructed or reconstructed
allow about 3 feet additional
height for possible fl ooding.
This would mean that the fi rst
10 feet of the height of the building,
or the entire ground fl oor,
would have to have no living
space for homeless individuals.
How then can 170 people
be considered for occupancy
in this location? Does the city
plan to ignore these guidelines?
After all, if there is a
fl ood, are you simply considering
that it’s “only homeless
people” that can drown?
Sorry Mr. Mayor, your responsibility
is to do all that is
needed to protect them. Your
Administration chose a site
that would require both remediation
and, primarily, extremely
limited use of the entire
ground fl oor, while seeking
to pay a lease amount for the
entire building. What a gross
misuse of our tax dollars!
Another thing, Mr. Mayor:
You may have heard that we
are in the midst of a pandemic
(not to even mention annual
fl u season). Before you think
everything will be over before
the end of 2021, let me give you
a reality check – it won’t! The
Center for Disease Control of
the Federal Government recommends
that there be no
large gatherings of people and
you want to open mega shelters!?
Is this another solution
that you have to homelessness?
Put them all in one place, let a
deadly virus breakout, and let
them die? Are you that cruel?
Are you that crazy? Or, are you
simply criminally insane?
Then there is also the additional
expense of installing
air fi ltration systems in the
building as well as partitions
between beds. Is it your goal to
spend all of the city’s limited
monies on your foolish non-solutions?
Our city is in a fi nancial
dilemma due to the COVID-19
pandemic. There is talk of service
cutbacks and job losses
for police offi cers, fi refi ghters,
EMTs, sanitation workers,
teachers, etc. and, at this
time, you want to go on a nonsensical,
unneeded, spending
spree?
You are using the homeless
for political ends. You are
warehousing them like they
are packages in an Amazon
warehouse. At this moment,
we need the least expensive solutions
that would maximize
keeping them safe and secure.
Among those solutions are hotels
and motels. Rather than
take the homeless out of them,
they should be utilized as they
provide low density shelter.
Monies paid to these facilities
also serve to keep them open
and their staffs employed.
Both of these conditions will
bring tax money into the city’s
coffers! You Mr. Mayor, are
looking to substitute health
and safety for the homeless,
continuing jobs for employed
people, and retaining businesses
to remain in business,
for instead, placing the health
and safety of the homeless in
jeopardy, having working people
lose their jobs, and forcing
businesses to close!
Multiple solutions must be
applied to solve homelessness.
The homeless are not a homogenous
population. One group
should be individuals or families
that have simply lost their
income, need a subsidy to pay
their bills, and a new job, or job
training for a new career, in
order to avoid homelessness.
This group should be able to
avoid becoming homeless with
proper fi nancial assistance for
them to remain in permanent
housing or be moved to new
permanent housing if they
lost their residence due to fi re,
fl ood, etc.
A second group should be
those who have substance
abuse problems (drugs, alcohol,
etc.). These people need intense
programs to attempt to rid
them of these problems. This
requires that they be housed
apart from other homeless populations,
are given the support
services needed to help them,
and that they are not housed in
residential areas while being
treated. Afterwards, they, too,
can be transitioned into permanent
housing.
Similarly, a third group
should be those requiring psychiatric
care if their conditions
are evaluated and found
that they are prone to violence.
They must be treated and
housed in non-residential areas
where psychiatric services
can be fully available to them.
Only when deemed safe of violent
tendencies, should these
individuals be transitioned
into more permanent housing.
By separating this second
and third group from housing
in residential communities,
while these people are undergoing
necessary and appropriate
treatment, we can avoid
confl ict and negative reaction
against the homeless.
Furthermore, more permanent
and affordable housing
must be made available
using innovative approaches,
such as the conversion of Cityowned
properties that are unused
or residential property
that can be acquired by the
City for the failure of the property
owner to pay required
taxes. Also, the building of
cost-effective homes, such as
done by a company called Icon
(concrete homes built using
a 3D printer in 24 hours per
home). This company has already
built homes in Austin,
Texas, is contracted to build
low cost housing in Mexico,
and has contracts with the Defense
Department to construct
barracks for our military.
Realistically, none of this
can be done right now, during
a time of crisis. But it must be
done early on by the next city
administration. In the meantime,
in order to stop the carnage
that is being caused by
Mayor de Blasio as he leaves
offi ce, I call upon our City
Comptroller Scott Stringer
to issue a directive for a citywide
moratorium on all city
projects that may require ancillary
expenses beyond simple
construction and, even in
those cases, to have the administration
prove that the project
must go forward immediately
and that there is no cheaper
way, nor less costly location,
for the projects. This moratorium
should be effective immediately
and apply to any direct
payments or indirect payments
(reimbursement) made
by the city.
In addition, this moratorium
should also apply to any
payments made to vendors or
contractors that have any violations
that are 30 or more
days old. Vendors or contractors,
such as CORE Services,
selected for 100 Neptune Ave.,
who have hundreds of outstanding
violations, should be
permanently removed from doing
business with the city. In
addition to this moratorium
issued by the comptroller, the
City Council should pass identically
purposed legislation.
Let our elected offi cials support
the taxpayers and those in
need of help and protection.
Hon. Maurice H. Kolodin
represents the BAHA (Bel Air,
Hollywood, and Arcadia) Tenants,
three apartment buildings
with 450 apartments in
total, which are located across
the street and down the block
from 100 Neptune Ave. He is
also President of Shorefront
Partnership Alliance and
Chairperson Emeritus of Community
Board 15
Bill de Blasio (again)