12 TIMES • JUNE 30, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.QNS.com editorial 26 THE COURIER SUN • JUNE 30, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Will they they ever ever trust trust the city again? More than any other homeless shelter in the city, the Boulevard Family Residence (formerly the Pan American Hotel) in Elmhurst stands out as the biggest example of the city’s ongoing failure to protect and serve its homeless population. The latest blunder was the recent revelation that a convicted sex offender resided among the many families who call the shelter home. This was not a minor criminal, either; this was a convicted child predator whose record includes molesting three children, including one as young as 10 years of age. What was he doing living in a so-called “family shelter” that is supposed to be a safer option for homeless families than the open streets? Thankfully, there have been no public cases to date of this predator attacking any kids at Boulevard Family Residence, but what if he had attacked some helpless kid, or worse? The ramifications of such an act are too horrible to contemplate. Making this situation even more dubious is the fact that the Boulevard Family Residence lies within 600 feet of a public school, putting the city in violation of state law regarding the placement of sex offenders. Worse, this exact situation happened a year ago, when sex offenders were determined to be living at the former Skyway Motel-turned-homeless shelter in South Ozone Park, also less than 1,000 feet away from a public school. Reports of this predator living among the prey spread in recent weeks and reached the desks of local lawmakers including Congresswoman Grace Meng, Assemblyman Francisco Moya and state Senators Jose Peralta and Toby Ann Stavisky. They wrote to city Human Resources Commissioner Steven Banks on June 17 demanding an explanation while expressing their concern about the shelter’s overall safety. “To place any sex offender in this shelter would be highly inappropriate,” they wrote, “but to place a level-3 child molester at this facility shows extreme neglect and needs to be immediately rectified.” As usual, when confronted by reporters about this colossal security failure, a Department of Homeless Services spokesperson gave the same boiler plate answer that every reporter gets: that the city is “legally obligated to provide shelter to any New Yorker, regardless of background,” and that all placements “are in compliance with the law.” DHS further stated that no one on the sex offender registry currently resides at Boulevard Family Residence, but didn’t make clear that the aforementioned sex predator lived there at all. If the DHS had a seal for its office, it must include a depiction of an ostrich with its head buried deep in the sand. We’re sick and tired of their non-answers and half-baked explanations. They have failed the city and its homeless people too many times to be trusted to do anything right. At the end of the day, the homeless people of New York who don’t want to live on the streets need to be able to trust the city to find them a safe place to stay. If they can’t rely on the city to fulfill the most basic of governmental responsibilities, then they won’t go to the shelters. They will instead stay on the streets, where their lives and well-being are in danger virtually every moment. And if the city can’t be relied upon to take care of the homeless, then it’s time that the state intervene. sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ, CHERYL GALLAGHER KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA BRIANNA ELLIS KATARINA HYBENOVA CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK WARREN SUSSMAN CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS PUBLISHER & EDITOR Font: Engravers CO-PUBLISHER Old English Normal ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ESTABLISHED 1908 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS ARTISTS JOSHUA SCHNEPS......................STAFF REPORTERS Co-Publishers ROBERT Font:POZARYCKI.................. 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Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). Will they ever trust the city again? More than any other homeless shelter in the city, the Boulevard Family Residence (formerly the Pan American Hotel) in Elmhurst stands out as the biggest example of the city’s ongoing failure to protect and serve its homeless population. The latest blunder was the recent revelation that a convicted sex offender resided among the many families who call the shelter home. This was not a minor criminal, either; this was a convicted child predator whose record includes molesting three children, including one as young as 10 years of age. What was he doing living in a so-called “family shelter” that is supposed to be a safer option for homeless families than the open streets? Thankfully, there have been no public cases to date of this predator attacking any kids at Boulevard Family Residence, but what if he had attacked some helpless kid, or worse? The ramifi cations of such an act are too horrible to contemplate. Making this situation even more dubious is the Family Residence lies within 600 feet of a public violation of state law regarding the placement of sex offenders. Worse, this exact situation happened a year ago, when sex offenders were determined to be living at the former Skyway Motel-turned-homeless shelter in South Ozone Park, also less than 1,000 feet away from a public school. Reports of this predator living among the prey spread in recent weeks and reached the desks of local lawmakers including Congresswoman Grace Meng, Assemblyman Francisco Moya and state Senators Jose Peralta and Toby Ann Stavisky. They wrote to city Human Resources Commissioner Steven Banks on June 17 demanding an explanation while expressing their concern about the shelter’s overall safety. “To place any sex offender in this shelter would be highly inappropriate,” they wrote, “but to place a level-3 child molester at this facility shows extreme neglect and needs to be immediately rectifi ed.” As usual, when confronted by reporters about this colossal security failure, a Department of Homeless Services spokesperson gave the same boiler plate answer that every reporter gets: that the city is “legally obligated to provide shelter to any New Yorker, regardless of background,” and that all placements “are in compliance with the law.” DHS further stated that no one on the sex offender registry currently resides at Boulevard Family Residence, but didn’t make clear that the aforementioned sex predator lived there at all. If the DHS had a seal for its offi ce, it must include a depiction of an ostrich with its head buried deep in the sand. We’re sick and tired of their non-answers and half-baked explanations. They have failed the city and its homeless people too many times to be trusted to do anything right. At the end of the day, the homeless people of New York who don’t want to live on the streets need to be able to trust the city to fi nd them a safe place to stay. If they can’t rely on the city to fulfi ll the most basic of governmental responsibilities, then they won’t go to the shelters. They will instead stay on the streets, where their lives and well-being are in danger virtually every moment. And if the city can’t be relied upon to take care of the homeless, then it’s time that the state intervene. The Queens Courier and the Mayor’s Offi ce are proud to present a weekly column in which Mayor Bill de Blasio answers your questions about issues that concern you the most. If you have a question aboutanything going on in the city, in your neighborhood or on your block, we want to hear from you! Email us at editorial@qns.com and Mayor de Blasio will get you an answer! Q: In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling overturning President Obama’s executive order regarding the deportation of illegal immigrants, what is the city doing to try to comply with the law while also helping to keep immigrant families in this country? We are very disappointed in the Supreme Court’s tie vote. But before getting into details, it’s important to note that “illegal” is not a term that we use to describe fellow New Yorkers because of its dehumanizing impact and because it is not a term used in immigration law. New York City is a city of immigrants, and we connect all immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, to key city services. Deportation is a federal matter. New York City does not deport individuals. New York City only shares information related to civil immigration enforcement in circumstances that implicate public safety and where there is evidence of probable cause. These laws draw a bright line between local law enforcement in NYC and federal immigration enforcement, while keeping the City’s responsibilities under the Constitution and public safety in mind. In the absence of the President’s executive actions, New York City will continue to connect immigrant residents, regardless of their immigration status, to the resources they need for their families and communities to thrive, including immigration legal services. The City will also continue to advocate for urgently needed federal immigration reform. A range of City services are available to all residents regardless of immigration status, including IDNYC municipal identifi cation cards, ActionNYC (a program that provides free, community-based immigration legal screenings and assistance), ActionHealthNYC (a health care access program for uninsured immigrants who are ineligible for federal and state public health insurance programs), and many other City services such as health care, education, child care, emergency food assistance and shelter, and more. Ask the MAYOR The Ridgewood Times COPYRIGHT 2016 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC. 62-70 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 General Publication Office: 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500/7501/7502/7503 FAX: 1-718-224-5441 E-MAIL: info@timesnewsweekly.com WEB SITE: www.timesnewsweekly.com ON TWITTER @timesnewsweekly PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY FOR 107 YEARS COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. 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