From the Times Ledger:Elmhurst residents south of Queens Boulevard were alarmed and angered to learn that a shelter for the homeless has opened up at a former convent once owned by St. John’s Hospital.
The facility, operated by a group called The Queens Alliance, boasts 29 rooms and officially opened the week of June 22. It had not received any clients from the city by the time of a community information meeting held Monday. The shelter, the organization’s first, includes administrative offices.
Queens Alliance Vice President Yolanda Martin-Garibaldi took questions from an increasingly hostile crowd, who worried the shelter would flood the neighborhood with panhandlers and criminals.
Neighbor Linda Lam worried about shelter residents accosting children walking home after school and accused the city of concentrating such facilities in the neighborhood.
“Is it because we do not have enough registered voters or because not enough of us come out to vote?” she said. “Or because we do not speak English?”
A rally in front of the shelter is planned for July 11 at 11 a.m.
To answer Linda Lam: Yes, yes, yes and because you don't donate money to pols.
From the Daily News:
A city Human Resources Administration spokeswoman told The News that if knowledge of the shelter becomes widespread, it may not send clients there.
Locals said they plan to reach out to elected officials and rally against the shelter.
Where was Melinda Katz?
16 comments:
I applaud the people of 58th Ave. in Elmhurst. I was at the meeting and these folks have very valid reasons for not wanting this so called "shelter for the homeless" dumped on them. It most definitely will bring in garbage. We were told that "area homeless" would be housed at this address...well p.s. there aren't any in this area so where will they be coming from? They're all being pushed out of Manhattan and the outer boroughs are getting all of them. The owner of the building (who only purchased it 4 years ago & lives in Great Neck) will get rich quick because the city will pay him big bucks per head for everyone who lives there. Let's just say at $100 a head X 29 adults = $2900 daily. Now multiply that time twelve months...nice piece of change wouldn't you say!!! One of the resident homeowners called Melinda Katz office and they were told "nothing can be done it's as of right so get a lawyer". We pay the elected officials salaries and this is what the staff blatantly tells a constituent. Fire that person and hire someone who needs a job....someone who will speak nicely to the constituents. Watch out people, this is happening everywhere. Your community could be next. Why not join the folks at the protest rally on 7/11...at 11am. Let Bloomberg hear our voices. Tell him & the owner that we won't back down. Why not put this shelter out in Great Neck where the owner lives. Let's see if he'd like something like this housed next to him. The address is 86-18 58th Ave. 2 blocks in from 57th Ave.
Great. Let's put up flyers announcing the location all along Queens Blvd and on the closed hospital.
Hand them out at the subway, too.
A homeless shelter across the street from a billion dollar shopping mall??? This is off the wall! The property manager of Queens Center needs to speak out against this plan. Where has Melinda Katz been? Good question. Probably filling her pockets with money from greedy land developers....
How soon will it be that bunk beds are put in the rooms to accommodate 4 per room?
Even have them sleep in shifts (triple money).
Wow! We should all try this. With the Commissar and the Messiah, we're all slated to be jobless and homeless anyway! What a way to make money.
The way this city is going, we'll all be joining them in the homeless shelter. Bring back America--stop exporting jobs.
Stay in a shelter----get section 8!They all know the tricks and how to get all the free stuff we the taxpayers shell out for!!!!!!
Sorry, guys, but Elmhurst is considered a dead zone.
This is the thanks you get for it becoming an immigrant community.
Services suck, the buildings going up atrocious, and the locals will say and do absolutlely nothing, absentee landords are the rule, and sensible planning not existent.
Most locals are transient and have grown up in traditional cultures that passively accept authority. you mention this to them and you get a blank, a shrug, or a goofy giggle.
As to the 'as of right' bullshit, I think we have to stop accepting this - the pols can pass any laws they like to shut this down - believe me if a gay, hasid, or immigrant was harmed they would go apeshit passing laws to protect their donar or tweeder base.
They are not doing their job.
Once again, Mayor Bloomberg is pushing the homeless out of his pristine Manhattan and sending the problem to Queens.
It's an actually an ideal location, they can just mug the shoppers and run into the subway. Thanks Bloomturd. Looks like I'l be shopping at Roosevelt Field.
Wait till the crime level rises in Elmhurst and Maspeth. Maspeth doesn't even have a police force. Nothing will happen until someone is murdered or a child is assaulted. Until then, Bloomberg gets his opportunity to ship the homeless out of Manhattan. It's Queens's problem now. He doesn't care about real estate prices plummeting. By the time all the middle class move out of Elmhurst and Maspeth and the neighborhood is gone, he'll either be retired or dead. Bloomberg just doesn't relate to the middle class. He's pathetic. Thanks to all our local politicians who were -- as usual --useless. Make sure you vote them all out come election time.
And why not? Traditionally all the shit gets dumped in Elmhurst
(or some other red-lined nabe)!
It once (maybe still) bore the stigma of being the cocaine capitol of NYC.
Then, alas, their snooty Jackson Heights neighbors, who were worried about being lumped into that image, went out in force and got their district landmarked!
So no homeless shelters there.
No so-so real estate values for them or being confused with the ills of the Latino Elmhurst ghetto anymore.
He, heh, heh.
What do you think...that they were going to dump a homeless shelter in privileged northeast Queens?
They tried it once in downtown Flushing...a homeless women's shelter at the armory.
Giulianni got crucified for that boo-boo...so now it's the home of the Queens north task force of the NYPD!
What an easy borough to "tweed"...
it's chock full of dim witted clubhouse groupies.
yeah,....send the shelter to Great Neck ...who likes to have a homeless shelter/ HIV/AIDS ppl living next door....This is a quiet safe residental neighborhood with kids playing in the streets and schools and daycare around the block....WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?
People should post and hand out flyers around schoools and daycares especially to parents who have their children attend those schools there. That is the only way to get mass media and attention in stopping this outrageous homeless shelter/ HIV/AIDS housing plan. Protest in front of the proposed shelter building is good but no public will be aware of the protest. Maybe protest somewhere near the Queens Blvd or near the Queens Center Mall or Schools as it matters to all parent and shoppers/business around the area. Get local business community to involve as this affects them as well. Mass media near school and to parents who send their kids to schools there, local business, mall shoppers are the only way to fight this homeless shelter/ HIV/AIDS housing plan as elected officials is not worry unless the whole community complain or TV news report!
I've lived on 58th ave for 25 years and it's great. Have collected 40+ signatures in 2 hours of knocking on doors and everybody's PISSED OFF and not going to take it. JULY 11 SATURDAY 11AM!! PROTEST this abomination.
PROTEST SATURDAY JULY 11th , 11am @ 86-16 58th Avenue, RAIN or SHINE!!!
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