14
QUEENS WEEKLY, MARCH 3, 2019
College Pt. residents hold another rally against shelter
BY JENNA BAGCAL
As the opening of the
proposed men’s homeless
shelter in College Point
draws closer, neighborhood
residents made it known
once again that they oppose
the facility.
A Better College Point
and the CP Residents’ Coalition
(CPRC) gathered
with community members
and local elected officials
at a rally outside of
the proposed shelter site
at 127-03 20th Ave.
This latest rally comes
fresh off the heels of the
College Point Civic and
Taxpayers Association
rally on Feb. 16 and, two
days prior to that affair, a
press conference organized
by longtime shelter opposers
state Sen. John Liu,
state Assemblyman Daniel
Rosenthal and City Councilman
Paul Vallone.
“We need to stay organized,
don’t listen to the
people who keep telling
you, ‘Oh, it’s a done deal.’
Ignore them, educate
them,” CPRC spokesperson
Jennifer Shannon said
at the Feb. 24 rally.
“Under the dark of
night, the city, the de Blasio
administration have
put this institution …
without letting anybody
in the community know
about it, and making us
believe that it’s a done
deal. Jennifer is absolutely
right; nothing is a done
deal,” added Liu.
Shannon encouraged
the crowd to continue
writing letters to Gov. Andrew
Cuomo despite a lack
of support from the state
official.
“This is going up to our
governor, who is ignoring
us. Many of you have written
the governor and you
get back a nice little letter
that says, ‘Sorry, can’t
help you, talk to the city.’
Last time I checked, I lived
in New York and he represents
me,” Shannon said.
At the beginning of February,
concerned residents
from all across New York
City formed the “5 Boro
Coalition” to fight the 90
homeless shelters the city
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According to Shannon,
who serves as the Queens
coalition chair, board
members are trying to get
legislation passed that will
help keep people in need in
their homes.
“You cannot fight this
in College Point. We can’t
fight it in Ozone Park. We
can’t fight it in Queens. No
one’s listening,” said Ozone
Park resident and 5 Boro
Coalition President Sam
Esposito. “But if we fight
it collectively as the five
boroughs … they’re gonna
hear us loud and clear and
they’re gonna come to us
and they’re gonna work
with us on solutions to
the problem.”
Also at Sunday’s rally
was public advocate candidate
Manny Alicandro,
who just recently became
vocal about his opposition
to the shelter.
“It’s very, very important
that we keep up the
pressure. We can’t stop the
pressure,” said Alicandro.
“We have to be concerned
about the safety of our communities.
We have to be
concerned about the safety
of our children.”
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at
(718) 224-5863 ext. 214.
College Point residents continued their fight against the city’s planned 200-bed men’s
shelter. Photo by Bruce Adler
/qns.com
