4 AUGUST 9, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Holden hosts high-ranking offi cials for meeting on Glendale shelter
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEOWODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
High-ranking city offi cials joined
Councilman Robert Holden in
his district last week to discuss
the future of the controversial homeless
shelter proposal in Glendale.
According to a press release from
Holden’s offi ce, the councilman hosted
Department of Homeless Services
Commissioner Steven Banks, Deputy
Commissioner Annabel Palma and
Council Speaker Corey Johnson in
his Middle Village offi ce on Aug. 3
where he proposed that Banks fi nd
alternatives to the potential shelter
location at 78-16 Cooper Ave. Johnson,
who helped facilitate the meeting, also
visited the site with Holden before
the meeting.
“Upon learning of a proposal for
a men’s shelter in Glendale, I immediately
requested a meeting with
the mayor and his administration
to express once again my steadfast
disapproval of this location, and that
it would in no way be an option,” Holden
said. “The speaker was gracious
enough to sit in on the meeting, and
I sincerely thank him for that, along
with his continued support.”
Absent from the meeting was Mayor
Bill de Blasio himself; last week, Holden
said he would meet with the mayor
and Banks about the revived proposal.
He had spoken to the mayor and Banks
the previous weekend by phone on the
issue.
The meeting came after Holden
announced on July 27 that a proposal
for a homeless shelter at the former
factory was once again in the works,
though it is not finalized yet. The
community previously fought back
in 2014 against a proposal for a shelter
to open there, and the Department of
Homeless Services announced it was
no longer considering the site earlier
this year.
When he spoke to the Ridgewood
Times on Aug. 6, Holden said that
Banks and Palma seemed receptive
during the meeting, and they
apologized for never responding to
the councilman’s request to use a site
on Cypress Avenue for supportive
housing. Yet, Holden said the commissioner
was also genuine about how
diffi cult the challenge of housing the
homeless is today.
In fact, DHS is looking for more
locations in addition to the Cooper Avenue
site within Community District
5 (Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and
Middle Village) to house the homeless,
Holden said.
Holden’s main point, which has been
echoed by many elected offi cials in other
homeless shelter controversies, is that
he should have a seat at the table when
shelter locations are being discussed.
The councilman said he is looking
into legislation to make that mandatory.
He also told Banks that the community
will never accept the Cooper Avenue
factory as a homeless shelter, and they
will likely protest and fi le a lawsuit like
they did to win the fi rst battle.
“Banks knows that and would rather
avoid that,” Holden said.
Holden said that his preemptive
eff orts to speak to the stakeholders in
this case are meant to avoid the need
for protest. If it comes to that, however,
Holden said the community is well
equipped due to their past battles
and his new seat in the Council, and
together they are “more formidable
than last time.”
“I cannot emphasize enough how
absurd it is to place a shelter at this
location,” Holden said. “It is a nonstarter
and I stand ready to fi ght with the
community against it.”
When asked for a comment on the
status of the Cooper Avenue proposal
and Banks’ impression of the meeting,
DHS spokesperson Arianna Fishman
said “we cannot discuss proposals that
are still in the procurement process,
as proposals in procurement are not
fi nal/have not been approved.”
“No fi nal determinations have been
made regarding use of this location,”
Fishman added. “We will promptly
notify the community board, elected
offi cials and community residents if
this changes.”
Photo courtesy of Councilman Holden’s offi ce
Councilman Robert Holden meets with Speaker Corey Johnson at 78-16
Cooper Ave.
Senior housing to replace ‘eyesore’ on Cypress Ave.
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
More details have emerged
about the aff ordable housing
facility for seniors coming
to Glendale aft er the permits for
the project have been fi led through
the Department of Buildings (DOB).
The permits fi led on Aug. 3 reveal
that the structure to be built at 80-97
Cypress Ave. will rise to 57 feet tall
with 45,420 square feet of residential
space. The six-story building will
contain the previously reported 66
living units as well as a parking lot
with 19 spaces, records show.
The basement of the building
will include a community room and
lounge, an offi ce, a laundry room and
a bicycle room for up to fi ve bicycles.
The ground fl oor will house the building’s
central offi ce, another community
room and four apartments. The
second through fourth fl oors will
each contain 14 apartments, while
the fi ft h and sixth fl oors will contain
10 apartments each.
The architect for the project is
Urban Architectural Initiatives,
which has been responsible for several
supportive housing buildings
throughout the city.
City records also show that the
owner of the property, the Well-
Life Network, was released from
a funding agreement with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development in February. The agreement
dates back to 2004 when the
non-profi t originally began building
on the site.
When reached over the phone on
Aug. 6, Willie Scott, vice president of
public aff airs for WellLife Network,
confi rmed that the fi rst version of
the project nearly 15 years ago was
federally funded. When construction
problems arose and halted the
project, the agreement eventually
came to an end, Scott said.
Formerly known as PSCH, Inc. until
a rebranding in 2017, the WellLife
Network has owned the site since
2004, according to city records.
The building currently on the lot,
widely regarded as an eyesore in the
community, was never completed
because the previous contractor used
bad materials that were porous and
caused the building to fl ood every
time it rained, Scott said.
The Department of Buildings
(DOB) eventually issued a stop work
order on the project, and WellLife
Network has been formulating a new
plan since then.
According to Scott, the old structure
will be demolished to make way
for the new building, but there is no
timetable yet.
“We’re in the process of acquiring
necessary funding for the development
of the project,” Scott said.
“We want this to be done as soon as
possible and we’re trying to get that
eyesore out of the community.”
While funding for the current version
of the project has not yet been
secured, Scott said the non-profit
is considering state funding.
Once completed, the Cypress
Avenue facility will become affordable
housing for senior citizens
age 55 and older, according
to Scott.
Councilman Robert Holden,
who said he recommended the
Cypress Avenue site as a possible
supportive housing location
when the Department of Homeless
services issued a request for community
input, was pleased to hear
the news.
“We have a very high senior population
in the district so we need
more for seniors, whether it’s supportive,
affordable or assisted living,”
Holden said. “Many seniors,
unfortunately, with gentrification
going on, they’re being pushed out.
They’re usually the first victims of
the lack of affordability.”
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