Concerned About Homeless Shelters Coming To Park Slope-Area? Broker Your Own Deal, City Says

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — The Department of Homeless Services told a Park Slope-area meeting Wednesday night that it doesn't have much control over where new shelters are placed – and if people are unhappy, they should try brokering a deal themselves.

At a Community Board 6 meeting, DHS staff joined elected officials and local residents for a conversation about Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to end the use of hotel sites and so-called "cluster" sites to house the homeless population.

Community Board 6 — which includes Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus and Park Slope — currently uses two hotels, which means the area will likely get at least one new homeless shelter under de Blaio's five-year plan to find replacement accommodation.

But because of how the city sites new shelters, the city said where they could go in the district is anybody's guess – making it hard for residents to have a say in new shelters that come to the neighborhood.

Here's how the process works:

• The city invites proposals from property-owners and shelter operators who have already agreed to run a shelter.The city reviews those proposals and approves ones that fit city and state guidelines and work for the city's current shelter needs.
• What the city doesn't do is choose sites itself. Once it approves a proposal, the community gets a 30-day notice and then the shelter can open.

That came as a surprise to some of the dozen or so community members in attendance Thursday night, who thought they were there to hear about possible new shelter locations in their neighborhood.

"Even under this plan, shelters can open in 30 days from when there’s public notice. And we have an opportunity to try something different here," City Councilman Brad Lander said at the beginning of the meeting.

"It’s a challenging conversation, but I’m pretty sure this is the right way to have it."

One person asked city officials what the community could actually do to have some say in the process.

Dan Tietz, Chief Special Services Officer at NYC Human Resources Administration, suggested identifying buildings in the neighborhood that could be used as a homeless shelter.

"You can look up as well as we can who owns the building and talk to them," Tietz said. He then suggested asking owners to look at DHS's list of homeless shelter providers and work with one of them to bring a proposal to the city.

Someone else asked what the incentive is for property-owners in a wealthy neighborhood such as Park Slope or Carroll Gardens would be to use their space for a shelter and not expensive condos or apartments.

Tietz said property owners "will not go wanting" for money.

"To date, that hasn’t been an issue," he said. "What we’re willing to pay is market. This is comparable to the market ranges. The owner-landlord is out, really, nothing. We can make those budgets work."

Another person raised concerns about the notification process, asking what the point of it was if the site has already been approved.

"This is a notification of our intention to move forward with this shelter," Tietz said. "And I'll acknowledge that’s different than seeking permission."

In a statement sent to Patch on Thursday afternoon, DHS spokesman Isaac McGinn said: "Last night, we had a productive conversation with the community about how our siting process works, what we look for when evaluating proposals for high-quality borough-based shelters, and how communities can get involved. We look forward to continued engagement with this community and communities across the five boroughs."

Image via Marc Torrence, Patch