Queens officials have vowed to block a 200-bed male homeless shelter proposal at 78-16 Cooper Avenue in Glendale
Four years ago, City Councilmember Robert Holden (D- Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodside and Woodhaven) and other constituent leaders fought against plans to house 125 homeless families with children at Cooper Avenue.
After receiving several reports, Holden received confirmation last Friday from Commissioner Steven Banks that the Department of Homeless Services proposed a men’s shelter at Cooper Avenue.
Holden planned to meet Mayor Bill de Blasio and Banks this week to discuss the proposal. He calls this proposal ill-advised and out-of-character for the neighborhood.
“Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to defeat this senseless and inappropriate proposal to place a men’s homeless shelter in Glendale,” said Holden. “I have fought against this location in the past and will continue to do so; this is unacceptable.”
State Senator Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside and The Rockaways) also condemned the de Blasio administration for putting forward another homeless shelter plan without consulting Glendale resident.
“I will make it clear that the Mayor cannot just come into our neighborhoods and plop homeless shelters in inadequate locations and with little to no services to help the homeless transition out of these shelters. This fight has just begun,” Addabbo said.
In response to the backlash, DHS clarified there are no proposals confirmed despite what has been insinuated.
“We said very explicitly and clearly that we ‘currently have no proposal for this site.’ Our statement below indicates that ‘We provide notification to communities when a viable proposal from a not-for-profit service provider has been fully evaluated—and communities will be the first to know as locations are identified for use as shelter,’” said Isaac McGinns, a representative from DHS.
