12 FEBRUARY 20, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
What happens next after city opens Glendale shelter
The tension in Glendale and its
surrounding neighborhoods is
palpable since the city offi cially
opened the Cooper Rapid Rehousing
Center, a 200-bed single men homeless
shelter in a former factory at
78-16 Cooper Ave.
The opening comes a week aft er a
judge dismissed a lawsuit aimed at
halting construction at the site which
was filed by a group of Glendale
residents who alleged the city had not
conducted a thorough environmental
study at the location.
Aft er their suit was tossed out, the
residents still hoped they could stop
the construction through objections
fi led with the Department of Buildings
alleging the shelter would violate
its current zoning requirements.
When the DOB granted a temporary
certifi cate of occupancy, DHS immediately
moved approximately 10 men
into the shelter with plans to gradually
move many more to the facility
over the next few years.
City Councilman Robert Holden
condemned DHS for “acting as a
rogue agency and usurping laws,
regulations, and process.” He also
EDITORIAL
The city offi cially opened the Glendale homeless shelter despite intense push back from the community.
Photo by Dean Moses
declared “this fi ght is not over,” and
one wonders what happens next?
The fi ght against the Cooper Avenue
shelter has gone on for years
and who could forget the Community
Board 5 public hearing last October at
Christ the King High School where a
mob mentality and bigoted anti-homeless
vitriol spread like a contagion
among the nearly 1,000 citizens that
packed the auditorium that night.
Anyone who spoke in favor of the
shelter was shouted down by their
own neighbors and when a woman
from Astoria stepped to the microphone
and said “I hope somebody’s
going to burn the place down,” the
crowd erupted in cheers.
The moment was caught on video
that went viral on social media that
same night bringing shame to
Queens. DHS Deputy Commissioner
Matt Borden put his foot down from
the stage.
“You can’t threaten to bomb a shelter
where there are people living,” he
said. “I refuse to accept a New Yorker
would say that.”
But she did and one wonders what
happens next. Let’s all hope cooler
heads prevail in Glendale and its
surrounding neighborhoods in the
coming weeks and months.
THE HOT TOPIC
STORY:
$3.8 billion JFK Terminal 4 expansion
approved as Port Authority looks to fi ll
800 new jobs at LaGuardia
SUMMARY:
JFK International Airport’s busiest
terminal is set to be dramatically
expanded aft er the Port Authority
board members gave the green light to
a nearly $4 billion renovation project.
REACH:
4,235 (as of 02/17/20)
ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ZACHARY GEWELB
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
ANGELICA ACEVEDO
EMILY DAVENPORT
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
MAX PARROTT
BILL PARRY
© 2019 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC.
General Publication Offi ce: 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361
TELEPHONE: 1-718-260-4535
FAX: 1-718-224-5441
E-MAIL: editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com
WEB SITE: www.qns.com
ON TWITTER @ridgewoodtimes
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
FOR 110 YEARS
COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving
ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This
newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion
and only for that portion of the ad in which the error
appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make
sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection
Law or any other requirement. TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is
Listed With The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member
Of The New York Press Association
/WWW.QNS.COM
/www.qns.com
link
/www.qns.com
link
