FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com AUGUST 18, 2016 • TIMES 11 Maspeth united against shelter NO DEAL: Maspeth & Glendale are getting homeless shelters, says city BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@ridgewoodtimes.com @robbpoz Soon after the news broke that Maspeth was about to get a homeless shelter for adults, a wild rumor began circulating through the community that the plan was the result of a political horse trade. It started when a local blog, Queens Crap, claimed on Aug. 4 that Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley was secretly in favor of the Maspeth shelter that she publicly opposed. Citing “government offi cials who asked not to be named,” Queens Crap alleged that Crowley agreed to the plan and, in turn, the de Blasio administration agreed to withdraw its proposal for a transitional homeless shelter in Crowley’s hometown of Glendale. The Ridgewood Times and QNS investigated this claim and found it to be light on facts and heavy on fi ction. In reality, a spokesperson for the city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) confi rmed to the Ridgewood Times late on Friday afternoon that the Glendale shelter is still on the table along with the Maspeth shelter plan. “That rumor is not true,” the spokesperson said in an email. “The proposal for a shelter in Glendale is under review.” Two plans, major differences The proposal to transform the Holiday Inn Express on 55th Road in Maspeth came nearly three years after the city proposed transforming a defunct factory on Cooper Avenue in Glendale into a transitional homeless shelter. Both projects are vastly different in scale and scope, according to Community Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri. The Glendale shelter would house up to 125 homeless families with children under 18; that number was eventually lowered to 75 families as plans for the building were altered. Based on an average of four people per family, that translates to a shelter population of 300. The Maspeth shelter proposal, meanwhile, would house a maximum of 220 homeless adults; children under 18 would not be permitted to reside there. Acacia Network, which operates other homeless shelters in New York City, is the proposed operator of this shelter. The gossip hurts everyone During an Aug. 3 meeting between representatives of the mayor’s offi ce and local elected offi cials, Arcuri said, Crowley asked the city if the administration was taking the Glendale shelter plan “off the table.” None of the offi - cials there answered her question, he noted. “These are two different proposals,” Arcuri said. “I think they’re just piling on” with the Maspeth shelter plan. Kathy Masi, president of the Glendale Civic Association and member of the coalition challenging the Glendale shelter in court, said the rumor has no merit. She noted that among Crowley’s constituents in Maspeth include close relatives who would be impacted by a Maspeth shelter as much as other members of the community. “Why in God’s name would she want to put a shelter in Maspeth?” Masi said. “She’s got generations of family there. I don’t believe that rumor for a minute.” Masi also believes the false gossip complicates the ongoing battles each neighborhood is waging with the city to stop two proposals that the majority of residents believe are a disservice to the homeless people they intend to serve. “It’s more important to have the Community Board 5 area united,” she added. “The rumors hurt us.” When contacted by the Ridgewood Times on Aug. 15, a spokesperson for Crowley vehemently denied the rumors: “It’s just not true.” “My indisputable connection to this community is not only professional, it’s personal. My family in Maspeth goes back three generations. Stories like this hurt the community and divide us at a time when we should be coming together,” Crowley said in a statement on Monday afternoon. Anyone familiar with Queens Crap knows that the site, with its webmaster and many of its commenters cloaked by anonymity, treats many elected offi - cials and the local press with contempt. In the past, they’ve hammered offi cials such as Crowley for supporting development projects they fi nd to be harmful to Queens. Because this rumor originated with Queens Crap, we asked how they received their information, with the understanding that they probably wouldn’t give us their exact source. “NYPD,” the anonymous blogger behind Queens Crap wrote in response to a Ridgewood Times reporter’s email inquiry. Those four letters were the extent of their message; no other specifi cs were provided. There are more than 51,000 employees of the NYPD, including more than 34,000 offi cers. Although the NYPD works closely with some shelter operators on security plans, only the Department of Homeless Services and the HRA are responsible for the placement of homeless shelters — and the rejection of shelter proposals. This article was edited due to space constraints. Read the full story at QNS.com. Hundreds protest homeless shelter (Continued from page 10) an assemblywoman comes out against Maspeth homeless signed a letter — along with Congresswoman Grace Meng, Crowley and Addabbo — to City Comptroller Scott Stringer requesting he deny the shelter plan, claiming the plan is “illconceived, inadequate and not in the best interest of New Yorkers in need.” The letter also notes that Holiday Inn Express, which is located at 59-40 55th Rd., falls within the Maspeth Industrial Business Zone (IBZ), and that according to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “10 Point Industrial Action Plan,” no residential use is permitted in an IBZ. Additionally, in a statement issued on Aug. 15, Markey expressed her staunch opposition the shelter plan. “As the mayor has frequently said, placing homeless individuals into a hotel is a bad solution to the problem of homelessness and his administration was seeking to avoid this type of facility,” Markey said. “So why would this new proposal surface now in Maspeth? It is a mistake and all of us in Maspeth stand fi rmly against it.” Many residents are still wondering what made Markey change her mind from thinking the shelter plan “may be a mistake,” to being fi rmly against it, as well as why she missed the meeting of such an important community issue. A representative from Markey’s offi ce said that the assemblywoman planned to be present and speak at the meeting, but had a family emergency en route and had to deal with it right then, and noted that she will continue to fi ght against the shelter coming to Maspeth. “We need to help these people,” Addabbo said of the homeless. “Dumping them in the Holiday Inn does not help them. Dumping them in the Pan Am does not help them. Dumping them in Glendale does not help them.” Noticeably absent from the meeting was Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, much to the dismay of those in attendance, who reminded the elected offi - cials that this is an election year. Irate residents then took the microphone and spoke out against the shelter. One resident was concerned for the safety of his two children who play at Frontera Park, and has seen the homeless from the Pan Am Hotel already causing problems in Maspeth. Many supported his claims, also noting that their property values are dropping and wondered how the neighborhood was assessed for shelter placement. Jerry Drake, member of CB 5, summed up the feelings of everyone at the meeting: “This is unbelievable. This shelter will be built over my dead body.” Many of the people who could not make it into the gymnasium for the meeting made their way to the Holiday Inn to start a protest outside of the establishment. “It’s unfair. We have to pay our property taxes and this is what they use it for,” said Diane Conlan, a lifelong resident of Maspeth who was protesting outside the hotel. “It is just going to bring in more crime, I hate to say it but it’s true. We are already inundated with shelters. It’s unfair.” Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley
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