Brooklyn Borough President Pens Op-Ed In Support Of Crown Heights Homeless Shelters

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams penned an op-ed in a local publication this week in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to open 90 homeless shelters across the city, including two in Crown Heights that have drawn fierce criticism from some in the community.

Adams, writing in Bed-Stuy's Our Time Press, draws on his own experience of he and his mom living "on the verge of homelessness" to call for greater empathy for people in similar situations in the community.

"Although I still believe the city should have opened the first of their new shelters in communities that don’t currently have any, my mom has assisted me in amending my thinking on this issue," Adams writes.

He continues: "City Hall has their part to play but we, the community, are also charged with a critical role. We must come up with a supportive plan, and throwing a 'rock' of disagreement is not a plan."

Read the full op-ed here.

The op-ed is Adams' most definitive stance yet on the homeless shelter issue, which has drawn opposition from neighbors who say their neighborhood is unfairly burdened by shelters compared to communities such as the Upper East Side or Park Slope.

On Wednesday, a Brooklyn judge extended a restraining order against one of the Crown Heights shelter sites, keeping it closed until the city can provide more information about how much research it did into other potential site locations.

Image via Eric Adams, Facebook