Homeless Shelter Opens In Outraged Community

Homeless Shelter Opens In Outraged Community
Twenty-five homeless families moved into an empty hotel near Kennedy Airport last Thursday, the day after community members and politicians protested what will be the opening of the sixth homeless shelter in their neighborhood.
The 335-unit Best Western Carlton House hotel at 138-10 135 Ave. is now the Citys largest homeless shelter, expected to house over 300 families. The facility will include a day care center and other social services.
"I dont know what else to do," said Ruth Bryan, president of Concerned Neighbors of Southeast Queens, a group that has led opposition to the concentration of shelters in the area. "If we have to take legal steps, we will."
About 100 people, including Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Assemblywoman Michele Titus (D-31 AD) and several other elected officials, rallied in front of the shelter on July 3 to express their anger at the Citys decision.
"Nobody ever contacted the community," said Bryan. "They just tried to sneak it in and that was totally unfair."
The Best Western hotel filed for bankruptcy several months ago. Under the terms of its financial re-organization, the hotel leased its facility to the Salvation Army, which has a contract with the Citys Dept. of Homeless Services (DHS) to run the homeless shelter at the site.
An emergency declaration issued by the City Comptrollers office early last week allowed the shelter to open for 90 days while the terms of a five-year lease are negotiated.
Yvonne Reddick, president of Community Board 12 in nearby Jamaica, worried about the impact of hundreds of additional children on the areas already-overcrowded public schools. "How much can one district take?" she asked. "Almost all the schools have portable classrooms on their grounds because they are overcrowded."
Jim Anderson, a spokesman for the DHS, tried to assuage residents concerns about public safety and overcrowding of local schools.
"The homeless family population is different from the homeless single adults situation," he said. "The real challenge they face is securing permanent housing. The single adult population is more likely to have mental health and substance abuse issues."
Anderson noted that all but two of Queens 15 homeless shelters are family shelters.
As for concerns about adding hundreds of more children to already-overcrowded schools, DHS officials met with the Board of Education on Tuesday to work out details for the students transition.
Also on Tuesday, Borough President Marshall and Assemblywoman Titus met with the shelters administrator to discuss practical issues such as security on the site and how residents will be transported around the area. Marshalls spokesman, Dan Andrews, said Marshall was not fully satisfied with the Salvation Armys response, but noted that the organization generally does a good job running shelters.
A public hearing on the issues is scheduled for July 15 at the DHS headquarters in lower Manhattan. Bryan will attend on behalf of her community.
"When it comes to dealing with the City bureaucracy, and where there is money involved, the homeowners out here are totally ignored," she said.