Thursday, November 20, 2014
DHS accused of lying 3 times this week
From DNA Info:
The city booked 100 rooms at an airport hotel for a "government group" — but then filled the rooms with homeless people instead, according to the hotel's manager.
Pierre Merhej, the general manager of the Radisson Hotel on 145th Street in Jamaica, said a representative from the city called his hotel’s sales office last month and said the city would need dozens of rooms at the 385-room hotel for a “government group” in November, he said.
“When you say they have a government group, as hotel people we like government groups,” Merhej said, adding that November is usually a slow month for the hotel, which is a few blocks from John F. Kennedy Airport.
The hotel only found out when the city called to finalize the reservation that the rooms would be used by the Department of Homeless Services to help temporarily house a portion of the city's homeless population — which is currently more than 58,000.
From the Queens Tribune:
The Glendale-Middle Village Coalition is calling on the City to throw out a study done on the proposed Glendale homeless shelter site that the area is safe to house a 125-family shelter.
The coalition has filed a lawsuit against the City of New York and the Dept. of Homeless Services to throw out the previous environmental impact statement that was made at the site earlier this year and to do a new study.
Back in July 2014, the Dept. of Homeless Services released a letter and a report saying that an environmental study done by AECOM USA found that the site at 78-16 Cooper Ave. is environmentally safe for the shelter and they would be moving forward with plans to build one there.
Several opponents of the shelter said the report was not done correctly and contained a lot of wrong information about the neighborhood, including the amount of open space available.
This lawsuit calls for the DHS and the City to throw out the study done by AECOM and conduct a brand new environmental impact statement on the site.
According to the suit, which was obtained by the Queens Tribune, the group wants the study thrown out because they did not take a “hard look” at whether or not the shelter would have at least one negative environmental impact on the neighborhood and did not provide a reason elaborating their findings.
From the Queens Courier:
One Elmhurst grassroots organization is claiming the conditions at the proposed permanent homeless shelter at the former Pan American Hotel are breaking the law.
Elmhurst United, a grassroots organization that has been voicing its opposition to the homeless shelter at 7900 Queens Blvd. since day one, released a statement arguing that conditions at the homeless shelter violate city laws. The statement was released after a Queens Courier report that the city is seeking approval for a $42 million contract to operate the site as a permanent shelter.
The Department of Homeless Services did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The group claims the shelter violates the NYC Administrative Code, which states, “No homeless family shelter shall be established which does not provide a bathroom, a refrigerator and cooking facilities and an adequate sleeping area within each unit within the shelter and which otherwise complies with state and local laws.”
According to the organization, the site does not have kitchens in every unit, which was why initially DHS did not consider the site to be a “permanent family shelter.”
Other conditions include “inadequate sleeping quarters” with four to five people living in a single room with bunk beds pushed up against windows, according to Elmhurst United.
17 comments:
How hard would it be really to put a cooking area in pan am rooms? Can the building handle the load of a fridge, microwave, induction stove top in each room? That's a half decent setup.
When it comes to the homeless, you are dealing with advocates who are so consumed with the idea that more taxpayer money has to be spent on them that the usual constraints of law, morality, and common sense simply do not apply. And there's never, ever enough money to go around.
We say "You lied." They say "So what?"
Look, they will tell you the homeless has to go somewhere, besides, look how many of the Democratic Machine's rank and file in some form or fashion benefits from situations like this.
So since shelters, like Honest Joe Crowley will be with us a while, why don't we suggest they get sent to the community that can best handle them, where most of our taxes goes anyway: the Queens East River Waterfront!
Can the building handle the load of a fridge, microwave, induction stove top in each room? That's a half decent setup.
no. unless they get a party certified electrician to completely rewire this place. then the price would be 5 or 6 times what it would be for a private individual. but then, again, a good chunk of that will get forwarded as a party 'donation' so every one is happy - including the sheepel that keeps voting this in.
How is it that these multi-million dollar DHS contracts only seem to be given to the "non profits" that are run by ex City officials or those with the very best of political connections ( Samaritan Village, Aguila, Housing Bridge, Help USA). It seems that the DHS is ethically challenged on a number of fronts.
How about a compromise?
The city needs housing for the elderly so why not convert the Glendale site into an assisted living enter for the indigent elderly?
No homeless people in the neighborhood and a great place seniors to live out the rest of their existence in relative comfort.
To Anon #4 This site sits on an active railroad line which is the only thing separating it from the Superfund site on the other side. No one should be living there.
Last time I checked the only Superfund site nearby is the old Wolff-Alport factory on Irving Ave. about a mile away.
So the lawsuit is basically saying the analysis the city did was bad, and so they want the city to do another one?
As if they would trust the city the second time.
Why cant the group hire an outside company to conduct their own report?
Because they don't have access to the property.
"Last time I checked the only Superfund site nearby is the old Wolff-Alport factory on Irving Ave. about a mile away."
Look up "Kliegman Brothers Site".
State superfund site versus federal.
And, isn't there some sort of food company at that site now?
The Finback Brewery is located there.
A brewery is there? Really toxic, eh? Unbelievable.
Jeez, reminds me of when Hugh Carey was the gov and he threatened to drink a glass of PCB's. Just don't be around when they burp.
The group claims the shelter violates the NYC Administrative Code: “No homeless family shelter shall be established which does not provide a bathroom, a refrigerator and cooking facilities and an adequate sleeping area within each unit within the shelter and which otherwise complies with state and local laws.”
I looked at the code, and it also states the following:
"Homeless families must also be provided with 72 inch flat screen televisions equipped with cable TV containing no less than 72 channels and access to all major sporting events including NBA, NFL, and MLB."........
"Each homeless individual must receive a mint on top of their pillow every evening; bed sheets are to be no less than 1,000 threads per square inch Egyptian cotton; each homeless person is entitled to a bed tuck and night time story....."
Thankfully the brewery does not use ground water, but the guys working there should be a little nervous.
these are dirty tactics they are using to help the desperate and needy,plus the criminal and lazy that tag along.this is going to acerbate quickly and will give justification for greedy developers and entrepreneurs to break building codes.
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