FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 7, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 13
DHS to open shelter for senior women in Douglaston
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Three northeast Queens
lawmakers on Tuesday, Dec.
29, revealed that the city’s
Department of Homeless
Services (DHS) is planning to
open a new homeless shelter for
senior women in Douglaston.
In a joint statement, Senator
John Liu, Assembly Edward
Braunstein and Councilman Paul
Vallone said that the shelter at
243-02 Northern Blvd. would service
What you need to know about ranked-choice voting
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Primary and special elections will never
be the same with ranked-choice voting
going into eff ect in 2021.
With primary elections serving as the
deciding factor in Democrat-heavy New
York City, the change to voting is going to
be important.
Not only will voters in the fi ve boroughs
be dealing with a new a ballot format that
allows them to rank their top fi ve candidates
from most to least favorite, residents
will have their work cut out for them in
deciding since some districts have dozens
of candidates running..
Th e district represented by Councilman
Costa Constantinides for example has
up to 12 candidates while Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer’s district will get to
choose from 19 individuals.
What will the ballot look like?
Ballots will allow voters to rank their
choices one through fi ve. However, if they
wish to simply only vote for one candidate
and leave the rest of the bubbles blank,
they can do that.
If none of the candidates get by with a
50 percent majority, the candidate with
the least fi rst rank votes is eliminated and
second choice votes on the eliminated ballot
are counted as fi rst rank votes. If a candidate
then passes the 50 percent threshold,
they are named the winner. If not, the
processes repeats until a winner is determined.
Voters’ ballots will be eliminated if
they choose the same candidate for all
fi ve ranks. Additionally, a ballot will be
deemed invalid if a voter gives multiple
candidates their top rank, according to
the city Campaign Finance Board.
Th e fi rst election that will use rankedchoice
voting will be on Feb. 2, a special
election to fi ll the void left by former
Councilman Rory Lancman when
he resigned in September to work for
Governor Andrew Cuomo.
What are some obstacles to rankedchoice
voting?
Ranked-choice voting itself was adopted
by voters in 2019 under a referendum
that that was designed to prevent runoff
elections. But nonetheless, questions of
educating the public on the new system
have been endemic with the City Council
debating in December whether or not to
postpone the rollout until outreach has
been made more eff ective.
“Th e idea ofranked-choicevoting was
to create a system that didn’t require a
runoff . And some argued it, you know,
would engage people more. Others said
it wouldn’t, but, you know, the people did
vote for it in a referendum,” Mayor Bill de
Blasio said in early December. “But when
you hear community leaders saying, look,
we’re not getting the education we need,
we have a major election in six months
and people don’t know how to use this yet,
that’s a cause for real concern.”
Aft er presenting their concerns about
ranked-choice voting in February 2020
some elected offi cials argued that with the
lack of educational outreach on the new
ballot system would put New Yorkers who
are not profi cient in English at a disadvantage,
and in December, launched a lawsuit
to block the plan.
Th e state supreme court rejected the bid
to put off ranked-choice voting.
75 senior adult women with
services provided by the nonprofit
Samaritan Village. A spokesperson
from Vallone’s offi ce confi
rmed that the shelter would be
at the former location of Pride of
Judea Community Services and
will open in late 2021.
The lawmakers said they
received word of the new development
on Wednesday, Dec.
23, but criticized DHS for its
lack of community engagement
prior to establishing the shelter.
Patch reported that prior to the
lawmaker’s pushback, the shelter
was originally meant for single
men.
“Aft er voicing our collective
concerns with DHS, today
we received confi rmation of a
revised plan for the location: a
75-bed, senior women’s-only
shelter,” the lawmakers said in
a statement. “While we believe
this is a better outcome for the
community at large, we are still
disappointed to see DHS adopt
policies where key decisions
are made without ever engaging
local stakeholders and community
members. In the coming
months, an open dialogue
and our continued coordination
will ensure that DHS listens and
properly responds to any and all
of the community’s needs and
concerns during all stages of the
process. As additional information
is shared with us, we will
share it with the community.”
According to the agency,
Community District 19 currently
has no shelters in place to house
those experiencing homelessness
in the district. Additionally, aft er
sending “multiple annual letters”
to communities and community
boards across the city, and also
to elected offi cials since launching
Mayor de Blasio’s Turning
the Tide plan, a DHS spokesperson
told QNS that the agency
has not received any community
feedback or responses for consideration.
“Today, there are no shelters in
this Community District,which
means there is no way to off er
shelter services and supports in
this community to New Yorkers
from this community who may
experience homelessness,” a
DHS spokesperson told QNS.
“Th is new high-quality facility
will be the fi rst traditional shelter
in this Community District,
off ering 75 senior women experiencing
homelessness the
opportunity to get back on their
feet safely and closer to their
anchors of life, like jobs, healthcare,
family and houses of worship.
Working together with
neighbors and not-for-profi t service
provider Samaritan Village,
we’re confi dent that these New
Yorkers will be warmly welcomed
— and through collaborative
support and compassion,
we will make this the best experience
it can be for all.”
In a letter to Councilman
Vallone, the Department of
Social Services (DSS) said that
following the establishment of
the shelter, smaller cluster sites
and commercial hotel locations
would close in accordance with
Turn the Tide.
“Our goal is to guarantee that
our facilities are seamlessly integrated
into each community, so
that our shelters are good neighbors
and our clients receive a
warm welcome,” DSS said in the
letter. “We encourage community
members to partner with us
by volunteering time and talents
and/or joining the Community
Advisory Board (CAB) which
will be created for each new site
to facilitate open dialogue and
address concerns, should they
arise. We would greatly appreciate
your recommendations
for community members you
believe would be essential voices
for this CAB.”
Richard Lee, a candidate for
City Council in the 19th District
voiced his strong opposition for
the shelter, citing the lack of
transportation and appropriate
social services in the area.
“While I understand the need
to support our homeless, this
location is isolated and provides
no support infrastructure.
Th ere are no social service
providers in the area and,
Northeast Queens being a transit
desert, public transportation
options in the area are
almost non-existent,” Lee said.
“In addition, the Department of
Homeless Services continues to
make decisions without engaging
the community fi rst, a decision
that shows how little they
care about community needs
or concerns. Finally, I do not
believe we should be warehousing
our homeless. Th e city could
use those millions of dollars to
instead provide direct rental
vouchers so that these individuals
could have decent and dignifi
ed housing. Th is is especially
true now, where the city is
experiencing record high vacancy
rates in the rental market.
We can do better to support our
most needy New Yorkers.”
File photo/QNS
Photo via Google Maps
DHS is planning to bring a women’s shelter to 243-02 Northern Blvd.
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