A resident of a local homeless shelter was arrested for allegedly attacking a man with a metal rod and stealing his cellphone in Glendale on Sunday.
On July 19, around 9 a.m., a 32-year-old man was walking in front of 71-13 Central Ave., when a man approached him and began beating him with a metal rod, according to the NYPD. The assailant allegedly hit the 32-year-old with the rod eight times before the victim fell to the ground, cops said.
When he fell, the victim’s cell phone fell out of his pocket, according to the police. The attacker picked up the cell phone and fled, according to the authorities.
The 32-year-old was treated by EMS personnel at the scene and released.
The unidentified man, who is allegedly a resident of Cooper Rapid Rehousing Center, a Glendale homeless shelter located at 78-16 Cooper Ave., was arrested a short time later, cops said.
Councilman Robert Holden, a longtime opponent of the shelter, took to Facebook to denounce the shelter.
“I am sick and tired of this shelter, and all the DHS lies that were given to our community,” Holden said. “This shelter has been a disaster since it opened. It must be closed now and never be allowed to reopen.”
Prior to the opening of Cooper Rapid Rehousing Center in February, Glendale was one of the few neighborhoods in Queens without a homeless shelter, despite having a population of around 250 people experiencing homelessness, according to the Department of Homeless Services.
As of April 2020, around 120 adults had sought a shelter within Community District 5, which includes Glendale.
