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QUEENS WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2019
Two Queens nabes to get homeless shelters
Locations in Ridgewood and Glendale slated to house at least 330 individuals, according to city agency
BY MARK HALLUM
The Department of
Homeless Services (DHS)
is not only proceeding with
its years-long plan to open
a Glendale shelter, but
will also open a facility in
Ridgewood for homeless
residents, the agency
told QNS.
News of the Glendale
plan broke on the evening of
Aug. 22, as City Councilman
Robert Holden took to
Facebook to announce that
the DHS informed him of
their plans for 78-16 Cooper
Ave., a once dormant factory
which has undergone
extensive renovation in
recent months.
The DHS confirmed
to QNS that they will, in
fact, open two shelters
in the Community
Board 5 district over the
next year.
The Cooper Avenue
site will house 200 single
individuals who are
currently employed or
seeking employment and
open in early 2020.
Holden said in an Aug. 23
press release that Westhab,
a service provider based
in Westchester County,
will operate the Glendale
shelter. “A significant
portion of the men housed
at the shelter will be from
the now–closed Maspeth
Holiday Inn temporary
shelter, per DHS,” according
to Holden’s office.
The Ridgewood location,
located at a former factory
at 1616 Summerfield St.,
will house 132 families
with children with a late
2020 opening date.
Priority at both locations
will be given to those
originally from Community
Board 5, most of which is
represented by Holden, who
are experiencing hardship,
DHS said.
“Homeless New
Yorkers come from every
community across the five
boroughs, so we need every
community to come together
to address homelessness,” a
DHS statement read. “With
zero shelters in Queens
Community District 5, these
sites will give individuals
and families with children
the opportunity to get back
on their feet closer to their
anchors of life. Working
together with neighbors
and not-for-profit service
provider partners, we’re
confident 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 these individuals
as they get back on
their feet.”
Holden claimed that
he and others would rally
against the plan to provide
services to about 330 in
southwestern Queens,
which DHS claims has no
full service shelters at this
point in time.
“I along with other
elected have just been
informed by DHS that
they intend on moving
forward with a shelter in
Glendale,” Holden said on
Twitter. “We’ll be meeting
with community leaders/
members in the coming
days to start planning
how we as a community
will fight against this
irresponsible decision.”
A furious Holden blasted
the city on Aug. 23 for not
considering his alternate
plan to build a school on the
site instead of a shelter.
“I am disgusted with the
way City Hall does business
when it comes to housing
the homeless,” said Holden.
“I presented a strong plan
to have a new District 75
school built on the Cooper
Avenue property and I
was told by all involved
city agencies that this was
an ideal solution. But as
soon as DOE Chancellor
Richard Carranza got
involved, he decided it
would be better to continue
wasting our tax dollars and
let the District 75 special
needs students suffer in
a century-old building
surrounded by heavy
truck traffic.”
Holden was a driving
force in the protests
against homeless shelters
in Queens during the 2016
demonstrations in the
midst of a homelessness
crisis. Since then, he has
used that influence, in part,
to successful unseat former
Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley in November 2017.
“I tried to fight against
this shelter the right way,
by negotiating with city
agencies and coming up
with reasonable proposals,
only to have the rug pulled
out from under me,” added
Holden on Friday. “I was
told countless times that
DHS and SCA loved my
plan to build a new school
on Cooper Ave, and the
Mayor’s approval was all
that was needed. But the
mayor recently told me he
knew nothing about the
plan. I’m sick of playing
this game with City Hall,
so now I will fight back
the best way I know how,
with my neighbors by
my side.”
Among the complaints
against shelters in nearly
any part of the borough,
critics often point to the
proximity of facilities to
schools or cite the areas
lack of accommodations
such as transportation or
grocery stores.
State Senator Joseph
Addabbo also vowed to
oppose what he deemed to
be “large scale” shelters
in favor of smaller
facilities he views as
more appropriate for
the community.
“With my district on the
verge of having Mayor De
Blasio place a fourth large
population of homeless
men within its boundaries,
most recently proposed for
Glendale, I will continue to
oppose larger scaled shelters
with limited services and
inadequate transportation,
while advocating for
smaller, more communityappropriate
sites that would
better serve the homeless
individuals in need,”
Addabbo said. “What about
utilizing city-owned sites
and properties for costefficient
modular housing
as done in other states?
What about developing
abandoned zombie homes
and providing a better living
environment for homeless
families, especially the
children? I guess after
witnessing 5 years of the
De Blasio administration’s
treatment of the homeless
crisis, we may never know
the answers.”
As a counterbalance
to the approach taken by
critics, Catherine Trapani
at Homeless Services
United stood by the
mayor’s plan to provide
widespread support for the
homeless population.
“Every New Yorker in
need has the right to safe,
quality shelter and every
community must share
in ensuring that right is
upheld,” Trapani said.
“Homeless Services United
stands with homeless
families and individuals
and looks forward to
continued progress on the
mayor’s plan to transform
the shelter system and open
new facilities when and
where they are needed.”
Josh Goldfein at
Coalition for the Homeless
also issued a statement of
support for the shelters
which would situate
residents closer family,
friends and employment.
“Our clients come from
every corner of the City
and until there is enough
affordable housing for
everyone, they are going
to need shelter in their
communities, where they
have support networks and
jobs and medical care.”
Since then, the Mayor’s
office has launched the
initiative Turning the
Tide on Homelessness
which aimed to examine
the amount of homeless
by community board and
provide shelters as needed.
It will phase out all hotels
and cluster sites by 2020.
DHS, through service
providers, will not only
give residents on-site
mental health and medical
services, 24/7 security
with a minimum of
two guards will also be
in place.
According to DHS, there
are over 8,100 homeless from
Queens currently living
in shelters.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by email at
mhallum@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4564.
This location at 1616 Summerfield Street in Ridgewood is slated to house 132 homeless families, according to DHS.
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