A Town Hall meeting is set to take place in Crown Heights on Thursday evening, in response to the news that a new homeless shelter will be opening up in the neighborhood.
Residents are organizing to fight the opening of the shelter for 132 families that will open at 267 Rogers Ave., a large complex wrapping up construction on Rogers Avenue between Carroll and Crown streets in Crown Heights.
The Town Hall meeting, hosted by State Senator Jesse Hamilton, Assembly Member Diana Richardson, Council Member Laurie Cumbo, and Community Board 9, will take place on Thursday, 6 pm to 8 pm at PS 161 The Crown, 330 Crown Street between New York and Nostrand Avenues.
Representatives from Mayor Bill De Blasio’s office and NYC Department of Homeless Services will be in attendance to answer questions.
The issue has been the talk of Crown Heights in recent days, ever since news spread of its impending opening, with some expressing concerns about its proximity to schools, and the impact this could have on residents and children.
“Homeless shelters will bring us back to the days of doom and gloom that prevailed in our area in the sixties,” long-time Crown Heights resident and community activist Shloime Drimmer wrote to COLlive.com this week. “The Mayor, Governor and our community leaders must be taken to task on this.”
“The city chooses the least desirable neighborhoods for the homeless, and clearly saw Crown Heights as a perfect dumping ground!” wrote Yossi Stern. “If this goes unchallenged then our community will face an uptick in crime and quality of life issues.”
The Department of Homeless Services claims the community was notified about the shelter Feb. 15. The city has said communities will be alerted at least 30 days prior to the opening of a new shelter. So far, the city has publicly released the addresses of only five of 90 planned locations.
The Rogers Avenue building has been under construction by developer Heights Advisors since 2014 when the Church of St. Ignatius was demolished to make way for the residential project.
The facility would be one of the first of 90 new shelters planned by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to revamp homeless housing citywide. Three of the first five shelters are in the Crown Heights area. One, in Prospect Heights, opened earlier this month.
‘refugee’ housing… heads up.
The way we’re headed now, with the openly anti-Semitic Yuppies, is also not so good. Maybe this will help balance things out and actually turn out to be a blessing!!
Just to clear some facts, this homeless shelter is not accepting people living on the streets, this building is going to provide low income and permanent housing for people who are currently living in shelters. Having said this my argument is simple. Our community leaders have secured almost no low income housing against the rapid rate of market rental properties, thereby forcing many young couples to move out of our community. This building should be offered to the residents already living in our community as an opportunity to live in an affordable apartment, rather then forcing our young couples to… Read more »
U guys sound like CNN about Gaza that they are the victims….
These lefty ideas of making homeless shelters are terrible policy will never win victims giving into making a homeless shelter is like not killing terrorists
🎶 Tzedaka tzedaka tzedaka that is what we give to the poor people to help them live 🎶 …as long as they are not seen!?
Maybe we need to go back to preschool to learn the basics of rachmunus
it would be a chillul Hashem to protest against the shelters
we have to have rachamanus on the homless
Anybody could fall upon hard times. Without family help it would be easy to become homeless. BH these people are given help!
SO WELL SAID!!!
This homeless shelter could help so many people! May it only bring good!
This might be a way to keep crown heights for the next generation
There are many many places for homeless shelters. Even in crown heights there are locations that are not one block from two schools. Bais Rivka has and the publici school next door. Accusing parents who don’t want s homeless shelter down the block from their daughters school is unfair.
If this goes thru…Maybe, just maybe, rent will be more affordable?
no real estate will be cheaper!
Less people off the streets means less crime. Another benefit is it will bring property value down which means more affordable houses in crown heights for our children. Win-win!
You got it al wrong.
You see we want the homeless to have nothing but the best? So we are advocating for the homes for homeless to be in a better neighborhood. Like where Bill deblasio lives, or where the pepole who run the shelter live.
The homeless deserve better then crown heights.
Get it?
The mercy of a fool is evil in its greatest form
protest a homeless shelter? is this for real? HOMELESS. the key word is HOMELESS. people don’t have homes and you want to protest against proposed shelter for them? i’ve never heard something sadder. the ignorance, racism and apathy is apalling.