KINGSBORO SHELTER PUT ON HOLD

A Brooklyn judge yesterday issued a temporary restraining order against the city's plan to open a homeless mens' shelter on the campus of Kingboro Psychiatric Center in East Flatbush.
The order issued by Supreme Court Justice Judge Gerald Held, effective until Dec. 5., temporarily prevents city from using two vacant buildings on the state-run Kingsboro site to house some 400 to 600 homeless men, beginning in January.

Held's ruling came on the same day as a group of central Brooklyn residents and politicians took to the steps of City Hall in a steady downpour to vigorously protest the plan and warn of possible legal action of their own.

They charged that in planning the shelter, the Giuliani administration and the
Department of Homeless Services plotted to circumvent the Universal Land Use Review Process (ULURP), while threatening damaging the quality of life in the communities surrounding the Kingsboro campus.

"It is our intent to make sure the city observes the ULURP process and ceases violating the city's fair share formula which protects communities like ours from oversaturation (with social service facilities such as shelters)," said Assem-blyman Nick Perry (D-East Flatbush), who was flanked by Rep. Major Owens (D-Brooklyn) and Councilman Enoch Williams (D-East Flatbush).
Owens called it "a plot by the Mayor and Governor" to force the closing first of Kingsboro Psychiatric and eventu-ally the neighboring Kings County Hospital center complex, including the State Universitry of New York Health Center at Brooklyn, formerly Downstate Medical Center.
"The mayor and the governor won't get their way," Owens vowed.
The issue has been an emotional hotbed for the community.
"Look at what happened at Bedford and Atlantic," said East Flatbush resident Ella Harris, referring to the moving of homeless men into an armory at that location. "It's a ghost town. We don't want it (another shelter). We worked too hard, sacrificed too much for our property and our homes."
Department of Homeless Services officials said the City was unable to comment on the issue because of the pend-ing litigation.
According to Assemblyman Perry's office, city Corporation Counsel attorneys have applied for a stay of the re-straining order. City lawyers and attorneys for opponents of the proposed shelter are slated to meet in Appellate Court today.


Courtesy of the NY Daily News
November 27, 1996

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Homeless Not Out in Cold, City Hopes

The snow and brutally cold weather may have kept many people indoors yesterday, and the city says it hopes the same is true for homeless men and women who don't always enjoy warm surroundings.

The Department of Homeless Services offers 39 adult shelters, nine family shelters and four assessment centers throughout the city. No one will be turned away, said Susan Wiviott, a deputy chief with the agency.

The New York City Police Department has officially declared a cold emergency, which allows police or outreach workers to pick up someone they see at risk in the cold. In addition, the Outreach Program at Homeless Services also has teams working with the Police Homeless Outreach Unit to bring the homeless to a shelter. Police said yesterday that there has not been a weather-related death since temperatures dropped to arctic levels.

Although Wiviott said that the shelters were at 97 percent capacity Friday night - the last evening figures were available - she expects more people at the shelters in coming days.

Temperatures yesterday were at a near record low, with no sign of a change, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures may reach the high 20s later in the week, but wind chill factors will make it feel like 5 below zero outside, the weather service said.

At the Jamaica shelter on 168th Street, some beds were still available yesterday afternoon, according to an em-ployee there.

The Kingsbridge Assessment Center in the Bronx was full, as was the Bedford-Atlantic Armory in Brooklyn, em-ployees there said.

But if a shelter is full, the city will provide transportation to another shelter and transportation back the following morning, they said.

Courtesy of Newsday
February 5, 1996, Monday

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