City, Nonprofit To Explain Plan
Residents will get the chance to speak out about the proposed Glendale homeless shelter during a Community Board 5 public hearing scheduled for later this month the Times Newsweekly learned on Wednesday, Apr. 30.
District Manager Gary Giordano informed this paper that the hearing will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, in the Christ the King Regional High School auditorium, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village.
The hearing will focus on the proposed transitional housing shelter for up to 125 families which the nonprofit group Samaritan Village wants to build at 78-16 Cooper Ave., a long-dormant industrial site. The proposal received preliminary approval from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) last December.
Samaritan Village and DHS representatives are scheduled to participate in the May 22 hearing, explain the proposal and field questions and concerns from board members and other attendees.
The hearing follows through on a request made to Board 5 last month by five elected officials opposing the project-Rep. Grace Meng, State Sen. JosephAddabbo, Assemblymen Andrew Hevesi and Mike Miller and City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley.
A large gathering is expected at the May 22 hearing, and Giordano warned that parking spaces at Christ the King are limited. Those planning on attending are advised to use public transportation; the school is located close to the Metropolitan Avenue M train station and bus stops on the Q38, Q54 and Q67 routes.
Samaritan Village, in answering an open-ended DHS request for proposals for new homeless shelters in the city, submitted its Glendale plan lastAugust. Reportedly, the $27 million project would house up to 125 families, most of whom would be single mothers with children.
Civic leaders and elected officials in and around Glendale charged the proposal is inappropriate. Opponents claim the factory is dilapidated and requires extensive and costly renovation, at the city’s expense, to make it suitable for housing. There are also concerns the site itself, given its extensive industrial history, may be contaminated.
As previously reported, the DHS launched an environmental study for 78-16 CooperAve., which is ongoing.
Other opponents of the project cited concerns about the shelter aggravating the existing strain on the local infrastructure and a lack of nearby public transportation options.
For additional information on the May 22 hearing, call Board 5’s Glendale office at 1-718-366-1834 during normal business hours.
