Councilwoman Tells De Blasio To Keep His Homeless Plan Out Of Crown Heights

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Bill de Blasio's plan to combat homelessness doesn't work for Crown Heights, the neighborhood's councilwoman Laurie Cumbo said Friday in her first comments about the mayor's controversial proposals.

"Our community has and continues to be oversaturated," Cumbo told reporters at the corner of Rogers Avenue and Crown Street Friday, flanked by more than a dozen community leaders.

"We’re not receiving our fair share in the sense of the entire city of New York. Everybody is not pulling their weight in terms of addressing the homeless crisis in New York City."

Cumbo was standing in front of one of 90 shelters that de Blasio's administration wants to open over the next five years, while ending the use of cluster sites and hotels to house homeless people.

The site, at 267 Rogers Ave. (the city originally said it would be at 265 Rogers), would serve 132 families with children, according to the city's Department of Homeless Services.

Cumbo and others in the community, though, say they'd rather see the complex be used for "permanent, low-income housing."

"If we’re moving in 165 people, let’s help them," said Musa Moore, chairman of Community Board 9. "Let’s make this permanent and let them stay here. Let the community residents feel comfortable living here.

Cumbo and community leaders also said the neighborhood is already oversaturated with shelters and that the city didn't give them a proper heads-up about the plans.

"Do not rush a process and force a center into our community without our input," she said.

Cumbo said she was notified "about a month prior to the residents of the community actually finding out" and that she hasn't toured the facility or met with Samaritan Village, which will operate the shelter.

A representative for state Sen. Jesse Hamilton's office said he did not receive notice until March 10.

The Department of Homeless Services says it sent notices on February 15, least 75 days notice before the shelter's planned opening in May.

"We welcome community input as we move forward with opening this new, high-quality transitional housing facility for homeless families from the Crown Heights community that will give families with children the opportunity to be sheltered closer to schools, healthcare, houses of worship, and communities they last called home," Isaac McGinn, a DHS spokesman, told Patch in an emailed statement.

"That’s why we are providing at least 30 days’ notice and, where possible, making adjustments based on community feedback to ensure our facilities are seamlessly integrated into the community and our clients receive a warm welcome."

And while Community Board 9, which covers part of Crown Heights, had 19 homeless sites — including shelters and clusters — when the year began, DHS says, four have already closed and 10 more are slated to close by June 30.

The Rogers Avenue shelter is one of five whose locations have been announced so far by the city. Two are in the Bronx and three are within a one-mile radius of each other in Crown Heights and Prospect Heights.

Another of those three, on Bergen Street, was temporarily blocked from opening by a judge after residents said their neighborhood was unduly overcrowded.

"We don’t want to just push the homeless crisis to another community," Cumbo said.

"We don’t want to just say 'not our problem' or 'not in our backyard.' But we don’t see how this current plan is going to work to address the homeless crisis in this community."

Image via Marc Torrence, Patch staff