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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