www.qns.com APRIL 8, 2022 2RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Crime spike near Glendale shelter has led to dozens of arrests
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
The Cooper Rapid Rehousing Center
has been a hot spot for crime in the
Glendale area since it opened in
2020, with a staggering 808 911 calls and
71 arrests made. QNS received exclusive
data regarding the operations at the
shelter after Councilman Robert Holden
demanded answers from the mayor’s office
on its effectiveness.
There are currently 183 homeless men residing
at the Cooper Rapid Rehousing Center
at 78-16 Cooper Ave., none of which are from
Community Board 5, Holden said. Most of
the residents came from other boroughs.
Councilman Robert Holden has been a
staunch opponent of the shelter since it
was just an idea. Earlier this year, Holden
called on the city to investigate the shelter,
claiming it was not upholding its contractual
obligations to provide basic benefits
like employment services and life skills
programming.
“Department of Homeless Services, the
city, the Bill de Blasio administration has
broken almost every promise,” Holden
said. “They said this would be an employment
shelter, and it’s not. It puts a lot of
stress on the limited resources of the 104th
Precinct.”
Holden has been battling to get data
revealing the operations of the shelter, and
finally after contacting Mayor Eric Adams
himself, was able to get a look into the shelter’s
efficiency.
Of the 183 men living at the Cooper shelter,
52% of them are employed, according to
data from the mayor’s office.
According to the city, they estimate
about 64% of the unemployed men are able
to work. The average stay for a resident is
314 days.
Since 2020, 71 arrests were made, mainly
for assault. Most of the over 800 911 calls
made were for an ambulance or a call for
help.
Holden said that the data he received
from the city was upsetting, especially
since he was told the homeless in Community
Board 5 would get priority housing in
the Glendale shelter.
“I believe in smaller shelters,” Holden
said. “You can’t expect the neighborhood
to accept a large, congregate shelter of 200
men not from the district — that’s not going
to work. The amount of 911 calls and
arrests — our precinct, it’s a small precinct,
can’t take that. Our neighborhood that
has a lot of schools around, women and
children being harassed. We shouldn’t
take that.”
Holden said that he will continue to
work towards opening smaller, faithbased
shelters that will fit better into the
neighborhood.
“Faith-based shelters would have worked
for us and our neighborhood,” Holden
said. “The warehouse shelter industry
is not needed in Glendale or Community
Board 5. I look forward to working with
Mayor Adams to reduce homelessness
throughout the city.”
A DHS spokesperson told QNS that everyone
has a right to housing but did not
address the high crime rates surrounding
the facility.
“The fact is New Yorkers experiencing
homelessness come from every community
across the five boroughs, which is
why we need every community to come
together to address this crisis,” said the
statement provided by DHS. “That includes
New Yorkers from this area and
the borough who fall on hard times, who
deserve access to the types of services and
supports that can help stabilize their lives
with dignity. As part of our borough-based
and equitable-siting approach, we remain
committed to ensuring that communities
have the critical safety net resources they
need to support their neighbors in need.”
The Cooper Rapid Rehousing Center at 78-16 Cooper Ave. was once a factory.
QNS file photo
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