The Glendale Middle Village Coalition’s efforts to stop a proposed homeless shelter from opening in their area will go mobile this Sunday.
Kathy Masi, president of the Glendale Civic Association, invited residents in a Facebook post to take part in the Sept. 23 rally against the conversion of a long-defunct factory at 78-16 Cooper Ave., on the Glendale/Middle Village border, into a facility for homeless men.
Masi encouraged residents to meet up at the Forest Park Bandshell parking lot, located on Forest Park Drive off Woodhaven Boulevard, at 9 a.m. on Sept. 23. They’ll then board buses that will depart at 10 a.m. and head to the rally location.
The organizers, however, have not disclosed where the rally will be held, though Masi indicated it would be at a location outside of Queens.
“We need at least 200 people to make a statement,” Masi wrote on Facebook. “Please tell your friends and neighbors.”
In July, as previously reported, local officials learned that the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) was working on a plan to create a shelter at the former factory for up to 200 homeless men. The news came months after the agency announced the original homeless shelter plan for the site, first proposed in 2014 and met with staunch local opposition, had been taken off the table.
The Glendale Middle Village Coalition, an alliance of local civic groups serving both communities, had been formed following the first shelter plan; it was revived from dormancy after rumblings about the new shelter plan surfaced this summer.
To date, the DHS has yet to announce a new homeless shelter proposal for the Glendale location, but local elected officials including Councilman Robert Holden and state Senator Joe Addabbo have been vocal in opposing it. At the Sept. 12 Community Board 5 meeting, Holden said he had spoken with the city’s Department of Design and Construction about the possibility of building a new public school at the location instead.
If you’re interested in attending Sunday’s rally, email gmvcoalitioninfo@gmail.com.
