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Important Town Hall Meeting This Thursday
By The Changeling | October 14, 2008
This Thursday, October 16th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. there will an important town hall meeting taking place in our neighborhoood. The meeting is to discuss the plans for the Sumner Avenue Armory.* Mayor Bloomberg has announced the city’s plans to close the Bellevue men’s shelter in Manhattan. Those men will be assigned to the Atlantic Avenue Armory and the overflow will be assigned to the Sumner Avenue armory. The city is already busing homeless men from other places to the Sumner Armory–this is IN ADDITION to the 200 men assigned to this facility. The last thing Bed-Stuy needs is more homeless men bused in each night.
I spoke to a Bed-Stuy business owner who told me that if this expansion plan takes place, the area between the Atlantic Avenue Armory and the Sumner Armory will suffer terribly. Anyone who has been near the Atlantic Armory in the daytime will know exactly what I’m describing: homeless men hanging around fighting, menacing passers-by and bringing down the area. Fulton and Atlantic Avenue are slowly moving in the right direction. This community is going to have to fight to ensure that Fulton and Atlantic Avenues don’t turn into Bed-Stuy’s skid row. WHY AREN’T OUR ARMORIES BEING TURNED INTO TRACK AND FIELD HOUSES AND RECREATION CENTERS?
The town hall meeting to discuss the armory plan will be held at the St. Christopher-Ottilie Beacon Center (P.S. 35) on 272 MacDonough Street between Lewis and Marcus Garvey Boulevard. I urge everyone from the community to attend this meeting. Let’s unite and develop a plan of action that will benefit Bed-Stuy. For additional information please contact Ms. Blackshear at 347-325-4635 or Ms. Cobbs at 347-683-5047.
*The Sumner Avenue Armory is the armory located on Marcus Garvey Boulevard.
Topics: Community Meeting |
October 14th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Thanks for this! I saw the flyer and we will be there. I urge everyone to attend who lives in the area… If not anything will be thrown on us and we cannot complain especially when it is too late.
October 14th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
i understand the concern people might have, but where are these men supposed to go? in these difficult times, it shouldn’t be hard for any of us to remember that ‘there, but for the grace of god, go i’…peace, neighbors.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Why are they closing the shelter in Manhattan and bussing them out to Brooklyn? I understand and appreciate both sides of the argument, but don’t understand why Bed-Stuy is bearing the brunt of the other boroughs’ homeless population.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:21 am
These men already have a place- IN MANHATTAN. I agree we are in difficult times but why dump all these people in 1 neighborhood? Keep them where they are. Bed-Stuy is finally changing for the better and this will certainly almost hault that progress. We are doing our share. We have the armory on Atlantic & Bedford. We should all join in and help each other - PROPORTIONATELY!
October 15th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
from what I understand, they will turn 75% of armory on Atlantic Ave. into track and field, basketball court, tennis court, community arts center with computer labs, etc. and the other 25% will be used as a shelter for men, and they will only be allowed to stay for ten days and rotate. I also heard that Richard Green, community activist and leader in the Crown Heights area will be involved…
October 16th, 2008 at 8:58 am
They are turning the Manhattan armory into a luxury hotel & conference center. I have not heard anything about turning the armory on Atlantic ave into a sports/community center. Atlantic armory will have over 1,000 more men going through and then whoever they cannot accomodate will be heading over to the Sumner/Marcus Garvey armory. Actually, they have already started to do this!
October 17th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Anyone who was at the meeting and has info, please post it for the benefit of the rest of us.
I posted this on Brownstoner also, as I think this is an issue of the highest importance, not just to Bed Stuy, but also to all of Brooklyn.
—-
What they’re talking about here is increasing the number of homeless men in the Sumner Ave shelter to 700% of the current number.
Let me restate that number:
700%
Not only that, but the shelter is currently designated as a “working” shelter, meaning they will only admit men who are employed or seeking employment.
Not so with the new plan.
By the Bureau of Housing and Shelter Services’ own numbers, this would be 28% of the total single adult homeless male population they are serving - all in a single neighborhood. If you don’t believe me, look at their numbers here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/downloads/pdf/dailyreport.pdf
Please keep in mind that single males are the most crime-prone segment of the homeless population.
This does not only affect Bed Stuy and Crown Heights, but all of Brooklyn. The facility at Bellvue was surrounded by a healthy economic matrix and an active, powerful political constituency.
The new plan will drop the main intake center into one of the most beaten-down areas of Brooklyn. The economic revival of the past 6-7 years isn’t going to continue if this is carried out. All those property owners in Clinton Hill, Ft. Greene, Prospect Heights and Park Slope will feel like they’re living next door the South Bronx of the 70s too. It’s only a 25 minute walk to any of these neighborhoods.
This neighborhood simply cannot shoulder this large a burden - it has already shouldered too large share of the city’s poor. Just look at a map of NYCHA properties and you will see what I mean.
On top of all this, the plan does not serve the very people it purports to, the homeless. Concentrating poverty in an area with an economy that is only starting to grow does not help anyone, least of all the most impoverished.
October 17th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
There will be Town Hall meeting every Thursday at
7 pm to address this situation.There was a good turn out pass this info along to your neighbors
there is power in numbers
October 17th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
can someone contact community leader richard green
of the crown heights youth collective, inc. he is involved in this project, he showed me the plans that his group is developing for the armory on atlantic ave. get in touch with him…
October 18th, 2008 at 12:22 am
No there’s no such thing as strength in numbers in our society. Your elected officials are responsible for this travesty. Don’t just show up a meetig or pointless Town Hall, hold those you elected accountable.
October 20th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
There is a blog to get information out about this issue:
bedstuyshelter.blogspot.com
October 25th, 2008 at 12:11 am
The blog you listed notes that an employee of DHS stated that there are no plans to expand the shelter.
Did DHS originally indicate that the Armory’s population would be expanded and, if not, where did this information come from?
Thanks.