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Angry Queens Residents Shout Down Plans For Homeless Shelter: ‘I Hope Someone Burns It Down!’
By
Luca Powell
Published Oct 8, 2019
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Luca Powell / Gothamist
By
Luca Powell
Published Oct 8, 2019
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A community hearing on Monday night over a planned homeless shelter in Glendale, Queens was drowned out by opponents of the shelter, who shouted down city officials and residents who attempted to defend the facility.
Hundreds of angry community residents packed the auditorium of Christ The King High School in Middle Village to denounce the plan to build a new shelter to house 200 adult men at 78-16 Cooper Avenue. The facility, part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build 90 new homeless shelters and expand 30 existing sites, would be an employment shelter, meaning residents would need to qualify by having a job to stay there.
Community Chairperson Vincent Arcuri Jr. moderated as a stream of speakers came to the microphones. Some raised widely-held concerns—including that the shelter is within a mile of several schools. Others were simply vitriolic.
“No such thing as high quality!” one man interrupted, as representatives from Westhab, the not-for-profit which will run the shelter, described the new facility.
“Mall cops!” someone in the crowd shouted, when the representatives described their on-site security.
“Move ‘em to Park Slope!” said another opponent, referencing de Blasio’s neighborhood.
The hearing came just days after four homeless men were bludgeoned to death in Chinatown on Saturday night.
A moment of silence was held for the four homeless men bludgeoned to death by another homeless man last weekend, but it did little to soften the hearts of the attendees.
**“**I was trying to be optimistic when I heard the shelter was coming, initially,” said Nick Gervasi, a Glendale resident. “When I turned the news on and saw what happened in Manhattan...I lost all hope that my neighborhood, any neighborhood [with a shelter] can be 100% safe.”
“They’re drug addicts and sex offenders,” said another woman. “Put them in a (unintelligible) away from society. They should be locked away forever.”
She ended her tirade shouting, “If they build this shelter, I hope someone burns it down.”
That was when Assistant Commissioner of Government Affairs Matt Borden stepped in.
“I will not sit here and listen to someone say they will [burn down] a homeless shelter,” said Borden. “I don’t believe a New Yorker would say that.”
Local Councilmember Bob Holden did not condemn the rhetoric at the time, but instead used the hearing to double-down on the anti-shelter campaign promises that propelled him into office in 2018.
Holden popped his microphone out of its stand and walked through the aisles, speaking animatedly.
“This shelter will not be at 78-16. We’ll make sure of it,” Holden announced, thrusting his clipboard into the sky. The crowd cheered.
Holden addressed his constituents' comments on Tuesday in a written statement,.
“I understand that my neighbors are frustrated, but comments like that are dangerous and uncalled for,” Holden said. "Making such threats serves nobody, and I’m very disappointed with how this meeting is being portrayed as a result.”
State Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi was the only elected official in attendance to speak up for the planned shelter. By then, the hearing had devolved into bedlam.
“It would be easy for me to come up here and say we don’t want the shelter,” said Hevesi, fighting to be heard over the crowd. “But I’m not going to do that. Those of you calling them sexual predators, who don’t see them as human beings, shame on you...You’re way out of line.”
Other support for the shelter was offered by the Ridgewood Tenants Union.
“We know the solution is not shelters,” said Raquel Namuche, a tenant organizer with the group. “Sadly, our local councilmember, Bob Holden, has divided all of us...If we want to help end homelessness, we have to be on the same side.”
Just before the end of the event, the tenant union was escorted out by police, apparently out of concern for their own safety. The remainder of the room applauded as they left, while the union shouted chants of their own.
This Queens Community District has a history of forcefully opposing homeless shelters. In 2016, the mayor reportedly promised that a school would be built at the same Cooper Avenue location. When a shelter for 200 men was announced instead, residents were furious, and the proposed shelter was rebuffed.
“With all due respect, we have been lied to, time and time again,” said another resident at the microphone. “The mayor doesn’t care about us. The governor doesn’t care.”
At one point the crowd broke into a chant: “School! School! School!”
Arcuri, a respected and authoritative voice on the community board, could do little to hold speakers to a mandated three minutes. Nor could he ensure advocates like Namuche and others wouldn’t be booed through their allotted time. Struggling to control the room, he ended the event abruptly. The event had gone on little over an hour, allowing time for less than half of the scheduled speakers.
“That’s it,” he said, and the auditorium filed its way out.
Arcuri entered the lobby, where a local group, Middle Village Coalition, was collecting checks of up to $200 from attendees. The group is preparing for a legal defense against the planned shelter.
Arcuri shook hands and worked the crowd a little bit before he found his wife. They hugged. Arcuri looked tired.
“Now you know what we’re dealing with around here,” he said.
A livestream of the hearing can be seen here.
Tagged
homelessness epidemic
queens
middle village
homelessness
Luca Powell
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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