10
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEBRUARY 9, 2020
Shelter for homeless men in Rockaway Park remains on hold
BY BILL PARRY
A controversial shelter for
single adult men, which was scheduled
to open next month in Rockaway
Park, will remain shuttered
after a state Supreme Court justice
extended a temporary restraining
order against further construction
at the facility.
Attorney Mike Scala, representing
the community, was opposed
by city lawyers representing the
Department of Homeless Services
and counsel for the service provider
at Queens Supreme Court in
Jamaica.
“We had the second hearing in
the case and the court is now considering
whether s preliminary
injunction should be issues, which
would keep operations ceased
through the duration of the case,”
Scala said. “Hopefully we will have
a final decision in the next two
weeks.”
In the meantime the facility, located
at 226 Beach 101st St., should
remain locked up and construction
workers should not be entering it.
“We presented evidence of multiple
violations of the temporary restraining
order that was issued on
Jan. 17,” Scala said.
The attorney has raised multiple
legal issues during the proceedings
including that DHS’
environmental review was improper,
that the 108 bed shelter
would constitute a residence for
the mentally disabled in violation
of state law which has a cap of 48
individuals and he argued there
was evidence of financial impropriety
with the not-for-profit
service provider.
QNS reached out to DHS and is
awaiting a response. Meanwhile,
Torey Schnupp, the lead petitioner
in the case and activist behind
the group Rockaway Solutions Not
Shelters, has stated Rockaway is
not the place for such a shelter as
many in the community are still
recovering from Sandy.
“When you see a neighborhood
trying to recover, and still recover,
the last thing you want to do is put
an at-risk population in such a narrow
piece of land,” she told NY1.
“The Rockaway community, we
united to stop this from happening.
We don’t have to take what the
city wants to dish on everybody.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by
e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.
The proposed homeless shelter in Rockaway Park remains closed to worker following a court ruling against the
city. Photos courtesy of Torey Schnupp
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