Another protest against homeless shelters has happened in Maspeth Queens.
The Maspeth Protest
Recently, there was another protest against homeless shelters. Specifically, the shelter to be located in a hotel in Maspeth Queens. The protestors voiced various reasons for not wanting the shelter in their area. Some were valid, some were not. Two in particular cooking facilities and distance to mass transit were ones that were not.
Click here for photos and article: Maspeth Residents Prepare To Sue City Over Proposed Homeless Shelter
No Outside Food
A visit to a shelter would have revealed that shelters generally don’t have cooking facilities. The exception: apartments the city rents for the homeless. These are in commercial multi-family buildings as well as failed condos. Unlike conventional shelters cooking facilities and proximity to mass transit are expected in these rentals.
Shelter Conditions in Armories and Schools
If you were living in an armory or school shelter you would find that outside food is not allowed. Therefore, the cooking facilities are not needed. Why? Because the residents live in rooms not apartments. The rooms are usually large enough for a small bed and locker, no cooking.
Of course, not all shelters are the same. If you are in a shelter with a room and not a dormitory you are happy. If you are fortunate enough to have an apartment you are blessed. But let’s get real it’s a shelter, not a home. So some things may be missing like a private bath. Yes, it is true lots of shelters do not have private bathrooms.
Distance to mass transit
The protesters also stated that the residents would be too far from mass transit. This was seen as a hardship for the resident. As such the hotel should not be made into a shelter. Let’s look at this: How many people have you ever heard say, Yeah I want to see a homeless person hanging out by the train or bus stop on my work to work? Answer: None
But even if that were not the attitude the distance to mass transit is still a poor excuse. The paying guest at the hotel has to travel the same distance to mass transit as a homeless person. So are the protestors saying that the homeless are incapable of making that distance? Are the paying guest better than homeless residents? No, then this reason is no reason.
The Real Reason For The Protest
The Maspeth protest highlighted the fear of the neighborhood. Fear that yet another homeless shelter would be placed in an area that already has its share of homeless. Don’t get me wrong this is real and just. But call it what it is, the unfair distribution of homeless shelters. In East New York and Brownsville, we have been fighting this type of thing for years.
You may not have heard of those protests. But you heard of Charles Barron and his fight against shelters in East New York. ENY has more than its share of homeless shelters and half-way houses. Some close to mass transit and schools. So here in East New York and Brownsville we understand.
Victory For Maspeth
As of this writing, the people of Maspeth have stopped the shelter. See: Queens Homeless Hotel Plans Scraped. This is a good thing for the people of Maspeth but it did nothing for the plight of the homeless. But it did bring to mind a question that should have been asked but wasn’t; where did the homeless come from?
The New York City Shuffle
The city claimed residents to be placed in the shelter listed their last address in Maspeth. But which address was that? Was it their actual residence or the address of the last shelter they were in?
You see both are valid addresses but only one is used. Consider what happened to my friend Dalton Brown. When Dalton entered the Bedford Ave Shelter they listed his address as the Bedford Ave shelter. His previous address was never listed. When he was moved to Manhattan, his address changed again. And then again when he was moved to the Bronx. This madness ended when I insisted that he get released from the shelter and come live with me until he got back on his feet.
Getting released from the shelter proved to be easier said than done. After much effort and a threat to bring a council member into the mix, he was released. This is the New York City Shuffle or how a shelter resident in one borough ends up listed as a resident in another borough.
The Bedford Ave Armory
In writing my article on “Why the mayor’s housing plan will fail” I mentioned the Bedford Ave Armory. Anyone in Brooklyn knows this to be the men’s shelter in Brooklyn.
The Bedford Ave Shelter was in an armory on Bedford and Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn. It is a massive building large enough to house military tanks, vehicles, and lots of men. When I worked there the waste of space struck me. There was no doubt that put to its full potential it could do much more than warehousing men. For instance, it could house facilities that would help the homeless re-enter society.
But now it’s being converted into upscale housing. Huh… what? Did they close one of the largest men’s shelters in Brooklyn to build upscale housing?
Is it not strange that after the closing of the Bedford Ave shelter in Brooklyn, we have homeless going to Maspeth Queens? Hmmm… Hold that thought while I tell you what could have been done at this facility and others like it.
Maximum Usage
Instead of going to the city offices, there could be satellite offices in the armory. These satellites would provide the same services as the main offices but with one major difference. The resident would travel within their facility to seek help. No more traveling to and from agencies. No more wasted time and days.
Great for Families In Shelters
For a family in a shelter, this would be great. The end of taking the children on the train or bus for an appointment. Instead, a short walk to the in-house facility. Meet with your caseworker and then back to your kids. Can it get any better? Yes, it can!
In-house Daycare
How about an in-house daycare? This daycare would watch the children while the parent(s) was at an appointment. It would also watch the children while the parent(s) searched for work or an apartment.
Also, there could be training facilities, schools, etc. In short, the potential of places like armories or abandoned schools to house and support the homeless is far from maxed out.
A sign of failed housing
Shelters in some facilities could be made into self-sustained communities. That’s how large these things are. But this is something that should not be encouraged. See: Is Spike Lee on to something?
Shelters are for temporary or transitional housing, not permanent residences. If we ever reach the point where shelters are used for permanent housing then we have truly lost the fight for affordable housing.
Imminent Failure
Mayor De Blasio says he wants to end the tale of 2 New York’s. One way to do this is to better help the homeless. Maximizing the potential of a shelter and its location can do this.
Not all shelters have the potential of armories and abandoned schools. So the city needs to get maximum usage out of these types of shelters. The items previously mentioned can be a starting point.
In contrast, converting shelters into upscale apartments is a waste. Such conversions are another reason why the mayor’s housing plan will fail.
The questions not asked
Finally, The Maspeth protest spotlighted the homeless situation. But not in a way that helped the homeless. It is still unknown as to, “Where did the homeless come from? ” Or “Where did the homeless of the Bedford Ave Shelter go?” And just as important, “Why is the city converting a homeless shelter into upscale housing?”
The Maspeth protest could have forced the city to come clean about its dealings with the homeless. Instead, I believe the city used the protest to do an end-run around the protestors and quietly move the homeless into another area.
Maybe another area in Maspeth. It’s been done before.
Links to Armory Articles
Read more about the Bedford Ave Armory Conversion. Maybe you can answer these questions. Why is this being allowed to happen? And where did the homeless go?
$14M Committed to Convert the Bedford-Atlantic Armory
Mixed-Use Redevelopment Planned At Bedford-Union Armory At 1555 Bedford Avenue, Crown Heights
Scandal-tinged developer removes itself from Bedford Avenue Armory conversion
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Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and nothing stated here is legal advice. This article applies to the five boroughs of New York. All information is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. Always check the real estate laws in your part of the country.
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