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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com OCTOBER 13, 2016 • THE COURIER SUN 11 QUEENS LAWMAKERS GO TO CITY HALL TO DEMAND THAT MAYOR DO MORE TO SOLVE HOMELESSNESS By Anthon y Giu dice  agiudice@qns.com/@A_GiudiceReport   Putting people in hotels is not going to solve New York City’s homelessness crisis, a number of elected officials from Queens told Mayor Bill de Blasio during a press conference on the steps of City Hall on Oct. 6. New York’s homeless problem is no secret. Every day nearly 60,000 people in New York City have no home to call their own. The city has taken to placing people in hotels, such as the former Pan American Hotel in Elmhurst, the Holiday Inn in Corona and the proposed site at the Holiday Inn Express on 55th Road in Maspeth, even after Mayor Bill de Blasio said repeatedly that his administration would move away from using hotels as shelters. “The mayor is far from achieving his goal as the number of homeless families living in hotels has more than doubled since he made that announcement,” said Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley. “Housing families in hotel units without kitchens is against the law.” Crowley urged de Blasio to renew the city’s contracts with legal cluster sites to shelter the homeless legally. Local lawmakers rallied on the steps of City Hall, calling on the mayor to change its policies toward housing the homeless in hotels. “The city has existing contracts with legal cluster homeless shelters. These are apartments and buildings which are in danger of being lost,” Crowley said. State Senator Joseph Addabbo Photo: Anthony Giudice/QNS compared the proposed Maspeth homeless shelter site to a “prison like setting,” with metal detectors, 24-hour surveillance, security guards on every floor and a curfew. “That’s not how you help someone. That’s not how you help families get back on their feet,” he added. “That’s putting them in a prison-like setting. It’s not right. Our people deserve better. Our communities deserve better.” The lawmakers advocated for more affordable housing and rent subsidies to keep those at risk of becoming homeless from being priced out of the market. Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi has a nearly $500 million plan to do just that, while Governor Andrew Cuomo has a $2 billion plan to help homeless individuals across the state. These plans, however, will take some time to implement, so more immediate solutions are needed. The lawmakers suggested that the city look at its vacant land and use that to build modular homes on in a short amount of time, as the organization Fiorello Homes for the Homeless has suggested to elected officials. Foreclosed homes should also be looked at as a more viable solution to housing the homeless than warehousing them in hotels. Another solution put forth was to ask Governor Cuomo for assistance with the homeless problem and utilize the entire state. Great rates like ours are always in season. 1.25% 18-Month CD APY1 $5,000 minimum deposit To qualify you must open a Flushing Bank Complete Checking Plus account. Get the complete access and control you desire with a competitive interest rate and banking on-the-go with our Flushing Bank Mobile2 app. For more information and to fi nd out about our other great offers, visit your local Flushing Bank branch, call 800.581.2889 or visit www.FlushingBank.com. 1 New money only. APY effective July 5, 2016. Annual percentage yield assumes principal and interest remain on deposit for a full year at current rate. Minimum deposit balance of $5,000 is required. Funds cannot be transferred from an existing Flushing Bank account. Premature withdrawals may be subject to bank and IRS penalties. Rates and offer are subject to change without notice. A new Complete Checking Plus account with a $5,000 minimum initial deposit is required to receive the CD with the advertised rate. Certain fees and restrictions may apply. For new IRA and rollover accounts, the minimum deposit balance is $5,000. A new checking account is not required for IRA accounts. Speak with a Flushing Bank representative for more details. 2 Flushing Bank Mobile Banking is available to all Flushing Bank online banking users. Flushing Bank is a registered trademark


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