A heated town hall meeting took place Thursday to discuss a proposed homeless facility in Ozone Park.
"We don't know if there's sex offenders in here, these people can't survive on their own," said resident Christopher Chopin.
The city is working with non-profit 'Breaking Ground' on the proposal to serve homeless men and women at a building on Atlantic Avenue.
They said the plan is designed to serve 75 drop-in clients who can stop by for services, and an additional 25-50 transitional housing residents.
Councilmember Ruben Wills and State Assemblyman Michael Miller hosted the meeting. The goal was to give residents a chance to express their concerns to a panel of representatives behind the plan.
"This allows people to ask questions, and hopefully get some answers, whether they believe the answers or not, at least they are getting some answers, said Wills.
Answers that didn't seem to sit well with most of the residents who attended, especially since organizers don't plan to put a curfew in place.
"What happens if one day they're not on their medication or they're not receiving the help they need, or they just don't want the help, and they attack one of our children?" said resident Ivette Hurtado.
Organizers argue they will have 24/7 security inside and outside of the building, and won't let sex offenders in.
Look folks, this will not be a "drop in center". This will be yet another location where DHS warehouses 100+ people who come from nowhere nearby. Those deluded into thinking that this will serve "local street homeless" and that they will screen for sex offender status - when they have already been found inside the Pan Am Hotel - have got to wake up and smell the coffee.
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Just the fact that DHS is stating that there will be security 24/7 should tell you that this is not a drop in center. Homeless vagrants will be sleeping there, on chairs, but they will be sleeping. That means they are living in the drop in center except the people who come in have no rights at all.
At one point it was declared all the drop in centers are closed. Not true. The Olivetti Center for Women on West 31 or West 32nds near 8th Avenue is still open. It's rows of plastic chairs that people live on. The untreated mentally ill are present and it's a true nightmare. Unhygienic, filthy, with lackadaisical staff. There's showers but the inmates are allowed something like a three minutes only. If you stay in the bathroom for longer than four minutes, security bangs on the door.
That is a very old and mostly wooden structure, and a beautiful and historic one at that. Imagine a fire occurring here caused by careless residents.
Another eyesore for Atlantic Avenue.
People remember this on Election Day...vote this progressive man out.
In my area I have seen an increase of them walking around looking for things.
First off in Maspeth...you have to walk to get things and these men were brought in during the night. Now you see their only choices are McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. They have to walk the streets to find the bus or other food stores.
We have one mentally ill man who exposes himself to woman and is wanted by the police.
I do not feel safe in my own neighborhood which I lived here since 1974.
This is his plan and wait for him to call you racists and child haters.
These people do not care about our communities. It is part of the homeless shuffle.
For Elmhurst where I work it is horrible. Once a very nice area but now not so much. A shame.
These people are not being helped and the number is increasing.
Hopefully this president elect will fix this sanctuary city and hopefully we can reclaim our neighborhoods before they are destroyed.
Remember this on Election Day 2017...voting him in again is a HUGE mistake.
Ask yourself what did he do for you???
And they pee and crap all over the neighborhood! In parks, driveways , and by sidewalk trees.
The sob's boss lost last tuesday, as did the democraps in the state senate and in congress, now it's time to focus on voting him out
YAWN!
When are we gonna get over it?
The northeast gets....because all the connected pols live there...and the rest of Queens gets whatever the northeast is spared.
That's the way the borough has always been divided.
The haves get more. The have nots get shafted!
Wah! Wah! Way!
Want things to change?
Flush your incumbents! They've been sitting on the pot for too damn fucking long at your expense!
Talk is cheap...especially on a blog spot!
Action takes sweat! Dump ALL of your do nothing politicians.
Take a lesson from Trump. Fuck both parties.
In the end, they represent their team not you!
Anyone know if Lincoln Restler was there?
A "drop-in" center means that many transients will be coming and going. Something needs to be done about the people flocking to NYC just to take advantage of our hand-outs.
Has anyone thought of the social service aspect of this -- the need to give these people services to get them jobs and training? The people who have spoken out at rallies about the deplorable conditions seem like people who would like to find a better way.
As said in the media many times, NYC is "wearhousing" people and there is no end in sight to the line forming at the borders and even over into our neighboring communities. This is a very dangerous situation.
They say no sex offenders. Elmhurst got them.
They say a lot of things but do not trust them.
It is more than positive to see all members, regardless of race, religion, etc come together in unity to opposed yet another homeless facility in a Queens neighborhood, Ozone Park. And they say we are so divided, elected officials tend to be culprits in division.
Ozone Park made up of mostly families and many homeowners of all different races has no homeless in their community, yet the powers that be want to shove another homeless facility, which can see traffic of around 125 individuals into this community and to make matters even worse place it 250 feet from a school. These people are pissed off and for good reason, a facility such as this which can see people dropping in and out at all hours without any curfew, is putting 125 people before an entire community of hard working tax paying people. Again this is NOT an attack on homeless, but the continuous failure of this deBlasio administration and DHS to properly take care of homeless people as opposed to warehousing and dumping them in communities all over Queens.
I wonder how many of those assholes sitting at the head table who want to place this shelter in Ozone Park, how many of them have shelters in their community that they live on let alone on their block.
The failure of addressing the homeless issue in NYC and other cities is the problem, not people voicing their concerns for the safety of their community. AND again where is the unethical Queens Borough President asshole Melinda Katz, who has NO homeless shelters in her community of Forest Hills or on her block. It is time for these fucking elected officials and other leaders to start walking the talk and start placing these facilities on your fucking blocks. LEAD by example or get the FUCK OUT.
GOOD FOR YOU OZONE PARK FOLKS!!
And a drop in center is even worse than a homeless shelter, 24/7 will be stragglers in and out all over the community and then telling their buddies about it.
it is more than positive to see all members, regardless of race, religion, etc come together in unity to opposed yet another homeless facility in a Queens neighborhood, Ozone Park.
Ozone Park made up of mostly families and many homeowners of all different races has no homeless in their community, yet the powers that be want to shove another homeless facility, which can see traffic of around 125 individuals into this community and to make matters even worse place it 250 feet from a school. These people are pissed off and for good reason, a facility such as this which can see people dropping in and out at all hours without any curfew, is putting 125 people before an entire community of hard working tax paying people. Again this is NOT an attack on homeless, but the continuous failure of this deBlasio administration and DHS to properly take care of homeless people as opposed to warehousing and dumping them in communities all over Queens.
I wonder how many of those assholes sitting at the head table who want to place this shelter in Ozone Park, how many of them have shelters in their community that they live on let alone on their block.
The failure of addressing the homeless issue in NYC and other cities is the problem, not people voicing their concerns for the safety of their community. AND again where is the unethical Queens Borough President asshole Melinda Katz, who has NO homeless shelters in her community of Forest Hills or on her block. It is time for these fucking elected officials and other leaders to start walking the talk and start placing these facilities on your fucking blocks. LEAD by example or get the FUCK OUT.
GOOD FOR YOU OZONE PARK FOLKS!!
It's troubling that while NY1 did a good job illustrating our outrage at this drop in center being placed in our (my) neighborhood, they failed to mention a key fact: THE DROP IN CENTER WILL BE LESS THAN 400 FEET FROM A HIGH SCHOOL!
No one wants homeless people to wander the streets. No one wants these folks to not receive the care and shelter they need. The argument is against a specific location, not against helping.
Another point: the owner of the strip mall across the street from this proposed shelter has offered to help locate a more appropriate site; one that will be less disruptive to the community. Any takers, DHS?
Your politicians are thanking you for reelecting them for another year.
This is what you get for pulling your punches.
Unless you get after them every chance you get in public, they will do this to you.
End of story.
The homeless should be bused upstate where there are ample residency opportunities unless working fulltime , and dont anyone dare to say that is "cruel and heartless" , people separate long distance from their families all the time to pursue opportunities , why should homelessness be exempt from what others do every day? This is not as punishment , most are stuck and have no choice , but look at NYC rents , when are the homeless going to be able to afford private housing , and how many people is the city going to subsidize to that end? The reality is that housing is much cheaper in other markets and if you cant afford NYC rents , you have to relocate to where you can afford the rent . Hey , I want to live in Hawaii , how bout subsidizing that for me until I can afford it on my own?
Send them where, to Newburgh? Rochester? A dairy farm? There are NOT ample residency opportunities here; there's a housing shortage everywhere in the state and the ones bused up from NYC all end up on Section 8. No thank you.
I think they've already tried busing the homeless out upstate, they come back like homing pigeons.
There were a bunch of people sleeping on mattress's by Macy's on West 35th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues. they made corrals of cardboard, had mattress's, comforters, pillows. a real nice set up. hmm, guess the rats loved the food people kept leaving for them. There were four or five of these set ups and they were not sleeping alone.
Looks like now that Macy's is doing up their windows in time for the Thanksgiving parade, they've been rousted. They like being in the city near all the action, they can panhandle all day and make real change from the know nothing tourists.
People we are a right to shelter state...they are everywhere! No need busing them.
They are out in South Hampton LI
Changes are on the way....with all these undocumented people here working working for low wages...driving the wages down and taking jobs away from others.
If changes do not come you will have more people on entitlements than working. We will become like Greece and then what?
IF THEY ARE OUT OF STATE, THEN SEND THEM BACK. GIVE THEM A ONE-WAY TICKET ON GREYHOUND !!
The number one reason against the drop off center on Atlantic Ave is the proximity
to the High School. The second reason is that it would be across the street from a shopping center. Every week I make a trip to Rite Aid Pharmacy to pick up medicine and then treat myself to Dunkin Donuts. If the drop off center were to happen I would be walking past the drop off center with my purchases feeling terrified that a homeless person would grab my medicines and food just to satisfy an urge. Who is to say that I would not be hurt in the car service alleyway that is next door to the drop off center? I challenge the Breaking Ground and DHS representatives to walk
by themselves with a shopping cart or baby stroller and see how safe they would feel
walking by the drop off center. Remember the 25 year woman in Greenwich Village who was killed by a homeless man who threw a brick at her head when she walked by.
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