6 TIMES • AUGUST 25, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Video shows portion of closeddoor closed- Maspeth shelter meeting BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @robbpoz A fi ve-minute clip of a secret meeting earlier this month regarding the proposed homeless shelter in Maspeth showed community leaders urging city offi cials to delay the shelter’s opening. The clip was uploaded on Aug. 20 to the Maspeth 11378 Facebook group by Tony Magno, who was in attendance for the Aug. 3 meeting at the Maspeth public library. It shows only the fi nal few moments of the conversation between local elected offi cials, Community Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri and representatives of the Mayor’s Offi ce and the Human Resources Administration (HRA). Up until this point, little had been known about the meeting except for second-hand details passed along by the few participants to local press and social media. The meeting about opening a homeless shelter for adults at the Holiday Inn Express hotel on 55th Road was not open to the public, but some in the community had heard it was happening and showed up at the library on Aug. 3 to hear the details and give their own input. The video picks up Arcuri in the middle of a statement urging Lincoln Restler of the Mayor’s Offi ce and Dan Tietz of the HRA to give the community “time to work together, to come up with an alternative facility to what this is.” Restler responded that the administration is willing to accommodate “good ideas and reasonable suggestions,” but conceded that the city is also “facing incredible challenges on fi nding housing on a nightto night basis.” Restler said that the city is willing to hear feedback and suggestions for alternative sites with 35 or more rooms, but cautioned that the city is moving forward with the 60-day timetable to open the Maspeth shelter. “We earnestly look forward to those recommendations. If there are better options, better sites, great,” he said. “We will concurrently move forward on a 60-day clock. If we fi nd alternatives, we’ll take it (the Maspeth shelter) off the table. If we don’t, we’ll move forward.” Three local lawmakers were also present at the meeting: state Senator Joe Addabbo, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, the latter of whom was the only one fi lmed speaking in the clip. “As the council member that represents Lincoln Restler (at far left) speaking at the Aug. 3 closed-door meeting on the Maspeth shelter. (Screenshot from Facebook video/Tony Magno) both Glendale and Maspeth, I feel you’re pitting one part of my district versus another,” Crowley said. “I think that’s unfair.” When asked by The Courier what she meant by that remark, a spokesperson for Crowley stated that the legislator believes it is unfair for the city to propose two shelters in the Community Board 5 area: the Maspeth shelter and one for a former factory in Glendale, fi rst proposed in 2013 as a transitional housing shelter for families. Since the Aug. 3 meeting, a rumor had been circulating that there was a trade-off in the works in which Crowley negotiated with the de Blasio administration to end the Glendale shelter proposal in favor the Maspeth shelter plan. Crowley has denied that rumor, and the city’s Department of Homeless Services told The Courier that the Glendale shelter plan remains on the table and is “under review.” Crowley also questioned why the de Blasio administration continues to pursue the creation of large homeless shelters when the city has reduced homelessness in recent years through alternatives programs. “I know the numbers and the city budget, and I know we paid over $200 million to keep people in their homes,” Crowley said, referring to funding that the city set aside in the 2016 fi scal year budget for various homeless prevention services. “I know the homeless rate has dropped. You have 2,500 fewer homeless people today … There is a demand to get people into real homes or better shelters, but we know that hotels are not the answer.” Watch the full unedited clip on QNS.com. Maspeth shelter war Of cial public hearing on Maspeth homeless shelter set to take place on August 31 BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @robbpoz City offi cials will formally present plans to open a homeless shelter at the Holiday Inn Express in Maspeth during a public hearing that Community Board 5 (CB 5) scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 31. The session will take place at 7 p.m. on Aug. 31 at the Knockdown Center, located at 52-19 Flushing Ave., at the corner of 54th Street. For weeks, Maspeth residents have been fuming over the news of the proposed shelter at the Holiday Inn Express located at 59-40 55th Rd., which could open on or about Oct. 1. Hundreds of residents voiced opposition to the plan at a meeting that one local civic organization Maspeth residents spoke out in force against a proposed homeless shelter on Aug. 11, but the subject was rst broached at a closeddoor held on Aug. 11 at Maspeth’s Martin Luther School. Initially, the board had scheduled the public hearing to take place at Maspeth High School, but days later decided to change the venue after speaking with the 104th Precinct regarding logistics and security. Because hundreds were turned away from the Aug. 11 meeting — over 1,700 were in the building, CB 5 District Manager Gary Giordano RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo BY Anthony Giudice noted — the board had to fi nd a place to safely accommodate an audience numbering in the thousands. The Knockdown Center has such a capacity and CB 5 was able to secure it for the Aug. 31 hearing. It was an ironic twist of fate given that the board had previously opposed the Knockdown Center’s attempts at securing a liquor license over concerns about large gatherings at the location. While the subject of opening a homeless shelter in a community is always contentious, Giordano cautioned that “every effort will be made to have this hearing conducted respectfully and thoughtfully.” Following the presentation, members of the public who sign up will be able to provide testimony. Anyone wishing to speak at the hearing is urged to register in advance by calling the CB 5 offi ce in Glendale at 718-366- 1834. All speakers should provide the board with a written copy of their testimony at the hearing. Depending on the number of speakers who sign up, each speaker will be limited to 3 minutes or less, the board cautioned. meeting eight days earlier at the Maspeth library.
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