14 OCTOBER 24, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
CB5 votes to seek alternatives to
proposed Glendale shelter site
Mike Papa of the Glendale Middle Village Coalition confronts CB5’s leadership during his public comments. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Community Board 5 met Wednesday
night at Christ the King High
School and voted unanimously
against the proposed Glendale homeless
shelter, but not without some
drama.
The meeting’s public comment
period was filled with a litany of
complaints about how the board
handled the volatile hearing on the
facility last week.
CB5 voted 34-0 on Oct. 16 for a
recommendation that would seek to
substitute the city’s proposed plan
at 78-16 Cooper Ave. with smaller
shelter sites for 20 to 25 residents,
citing problems with the size, zoning,
traffic, transportation options and
sewage system of the proposed site.
At the heart of the board’s objections
was fundamental disagreement
over Mayor de Blasio’s policy
on addressing homelessness. De
Blasio has vowed to reduce cluster
sites, which house the homeless in
privately owned apartments that are
subsidized by the city. The board’s
recommendation stated that the subsidized
apartments are preferable to
a 200-person shelter.
“While members of Community
Board 5, along with members of our
district, are very concerned about
the homeless crisis we believe there
are other locations in CB5, which
are smaller in size and seamlessly
would create a shelter residence in
need who come from Board 5,” said
Dmytro Fedkowskyj, the leader of
CB5’s Special Committee on Homeless
Issues.
Although the crowd had diminished
from the 1,000-person attendance of
last week’s hearing, tensions still ran
high. The majority of public speakers
aired grievances during the hearing
and residents — both for and against
the shelter — showed up to attack the
board’s leadership.
Several residents affiliated with
Ridgewood Tenants Union argued
that the board caters to the interests
of middle-class homeowners and
allowed racist and violent remarks
at the hearing to go unchallenged.
Organizer Raquel Namuche also took
issue after CB5’s Chair Vince Arcuri
referred to her group as “plantees”
who are not from the district.
“You all know that the Ridgewood
Tenants Union has existed since 2014.
And instead of commending us for
trying to be part of the solution, you
paint us as outsiders,” said Raquel
Namuche.
Mike Papa, an advocate against
the shelter, attacked the board on the
grounds that they do not represent
the community.
“Neither of you gentleman conduct
yourselves as public servants who
put forth the voice of this community.
You instead act as if you are a
governing body who instruct the
community on how things will be,”
said Papa, addressing Arcuri and
District Manager Gary Giordano.
A chairperson’s official responsibilities
include conducting public
hearings, mediating disputes between
board members and acting
as a liaison between members of the
public and city agencies.
In his monthly report, Giordano
defended his character by describing
his service with the Greater
Ridgewood Youth Council, which
increased its programs in predominantly
minority schools under his
tenure. Arcuri also denied prejudice
by referring to challenges he’s faced
as an Italian-American.
“When you say racists, we’ve been
subjects of racism. I spent 40 years in
the construction industry … I couldn’t
get a job in the industry because of
my heritage,” said Arcuri.
As the meeting drew to a close after
the board’s vote on the shelter, one
board member raised the concern
that the recommendation makes
reference to alternative shelter
locations that could substitute for
Cooper Avenue, but fails to provide
a concrete list of examples.
Arcuri responded that the board’s
executive committee and the homeless
committee would collaborate to
work on a set of alternative locations
to send to the Department of Homeless
Services in the near future.
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