WSZIO Column by Sandi Lusk
It has come to our attention that people in Parkchester and parents from St Raymond schools are NOW up in arms about the Poplar Street men’s homeless shelter. That ship has sailed and I will explain why about that and future development to come.
Let’s backtrack a bit. Several years ago, when we learned about the Poplar Street shelter, we researched it and found the location was “volunteered” to DHS instead of the original site of Stilwell Avenue by someone (who I shall not name) on CB11 to fulfill their requirements to have a city homeless shelter located within their board. (Ironically the city placed another shelter on Stillwell Avenue anyway, but I digress.)
We did everything we could think of to call attention to the fact that it was too close to the Blondell men’s shelter, which would house the same population. In fact, city guidelines stated that there should not be 2 shelters with the same population too close together. We sent documents to the city, had a walking tour with the then head of DHS (no longer in that position) who was met at the Poplar site with local residents protesting the opening, reached out to St Raymond’s and the Easter Seals school for support (which they denied), had petitions and blanketed the area with fliers.
We received little or no support. And the city ignored our attempts to show them their own guidelines because it was an emergency (an emergency since 2009, when Bloomberg’s policies caused a permanent spike in homelessness).
Fast forward to now. The shelter is built and almost ready to open. It is 10 minutes’ walk from the already open Blondell Shelter. Many of those who met with us on that day with the DHS Director have sold their homes and moved away. Businesses have closed or moved. It is too late now, the opening is imminent.
As you may know, the City Council passed City of Yes, basically erasing all zoning laws. Also, the people voted for propositions 2, 3, and 4, which eliminate review by the City Council and community boards in the ULUR process (land use and review). Now only the mayor and the developers will decide where and what types of developments will happen, completely cutting out the community’s voice.
We also will now have a mayor committed to building affordable housing any way he can. This is a perfect storm for development. I find it dangerous to have only the mayor and developers decide this, as there is potential for corruption baked into this system. I hope Mayor-Elect Mamdani will be as honest during his term as he claims to be, but time will tell. And we all know how honest developers can be.
Now, in other news: it looks like both the Flushing casino near Citifield and the casino in Ferry Point Park will be built, one on either side of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges. So, if Bally’s is counting on people coming in from Queens and Long Island to patronize the casino, think again. Why pay the toll when there will be a casino on their side of the bridge? Eventually one of them will fail. What a waste.
The era of community engagement and “power to the people” is over. When I started WSZIO 35 years ago we had local politicians who realized all politics is local and engaged with community leaders and organizers. Community groups were groups of people not Facebook pages. How the times have changed. Oh well, adapt or be made redundant.
TTFN
It has come to our attention that people in Parkchester and parents from St Raymond schools are NOW up in arms about the Poplar Street men’s homeless shelter. That ship has sailed and I will explain why about that and future development to come.
Let’s backtrack a bit. Several years ago, when we learned about the Poplar Street shelter, we researched it and found the location was “volunteered” to DHS instead of the original site of Stilwell Avenue by someone (who I shall not name) on CB11 to fulfill their requirements to have a city homeless shelter located within their board. (Ironically the city placed another shelter on Stillwell Avenue anyway, but I digress.)
We did everything we could think of to call attention to the fact that it was too close to the Blondell men’s shelter, which would house the same population. In fact, city guidelines stated that there should not be 2 shelters with the same population too close together. We sent documents to the city, had a walking tour with the then head of DHS (no longer in that position) who was met at the Poplar site with local residents protesting the opening, reached out to St Raymond’s and the Easter Seals school for support (which they denied), had petitions and blanketed the area with fliers.
We received little or no support. And the city ignored our attempts to show them their own guidelines because it was an emergency (an emergency since 2009, when Bloomberg’s policies caused a permanent spike in homelessness).
Fast forward to now. The shelter is built and almost ready to open. It is 10 minutes’ walk from the already open Blondell Shelter. Many of those who met with us on that day with the DHS Director have sold their homes and moved away. Businesses have closed or moved. It is too late now, the opening is imminent.
As you may know, the City Council passed City of Yes, basically erasing all zoning laws. Also, the people voted for propositions 2, 3, and 4, which eliminate review by the City Council and community boards in the ULUR process (land use and review). Now only the mayor and the developers will decide where and what types of developments will happen, completely cutting out the community’s voice.
We also will now have a mayor committed to building affordable housing any way he can. This is a perfect storm for development. I find it dangerous to have only the mayor and developers decide this, as there is potential for corruption baked into this system. I hope Mayor-Elect Mamdani will be as honest during his term as he claims to be, but time will tell. And we all know how honest developers can be.
Now, in other news: it looks like both the Flushing casino near Citifield and the casino in Ferry Point Park will be built, one on either side of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges. So, if Bally’s is counting on people coming in from Queens and Long Island to patronize the casino, think again. Why pay the toll when there will be a casino on their side of the bridge? Eventually one of them will fail. What a waste.
The era of community engagement and “power to the people” is over. When I started WSZIO 35 years ago we had local politicians who realized all politics is local and engaged with community leaders and organizers. Community groups were groups of people not Facebook pages. How the times have changed. Oh well, adapt or be made redundant.
TTFN
