Mayor Bill DeBlasio has pledged to open 90 shelters in NYC by the end of his term. His intentions are crystal clear! It is all here in the 2017 report, Turning the Tide on Homelessness in NYC, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dhs/downloads/pdf/turning-the-tide-on-homelessness.pdf.
My
fear is that before Mayor de Blasio’s term ends, there will more shelters in
Staten Island.
Our elected officials know that this fear is true! Unfortunately, as of right, gives carte blanche to many developers. Right now, there is little that can be done to prevent this from happening. Something needs to change!
Why
was the community left out of the process? It is the job of our elected
officials to inform the community of Requests for Proposals (RFP) by various
government agencies. The Department of Social Services-Department
of Homeless Services (DSS-DHS) has open RFP’s for shelters. Here is the link https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dhs/about/contracts.page.
Residents
of Staten Island have a right, as a community, to be a part of the discussion
about shelter proposals in their communities.
Homelessness is a serious situation for anyone to be in. It is an issue that society needs to address. We do not want to see the homeless sleeping and living on the streets. They need to have shelter. What is the answer?
- A hotel?
- A homeless shelter?
- Housing with supportive services?
- Permanent housing?
Where
should funding go, and should NYC be dedicating so much funding to the
Department of Homeless Services?
Wouldn't the money be better spent on developing permanent housing such
as senior housing, displaced youth housing, developmentally disabled housing,
family housing, etc.? Instead of displacing families into shelters, should
there be an increase in housing vouchers?
We should be investing time and effort into permanent housing solutions, not temporary shelters.
A SHELTER IS NOT A HOME!
The 2017 Turning the Tide on Homelessness in NYC report https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dhs/downloads/pdf/turning-the-tide-on-homelessness.pdf does not address community involvement in a shelter project until the very end. I quote "At least 30 days prior to opening a new facility to shelter homeless New Yorkers or 30 days prior to the public hearing on the community-based organization’s contract with DHS to operate the shelter, whichever comes first, DHS will provide notice of details regarding the site—including the social services operator, address, population, and capacity—to the local community board and each of the local elected officials, including the City Council Member, Assembly Member, State Senator, Member of Congress, and Borough President." Please note the NYS legislature now requires a process for notification of new homeless shelters and conducting a public information session in the community where the proposed shelter is to be located, however, this bill will not take effect until later this year.
This is not a community involvement!
Staten Island residents need to form civic associations. We need to participate in Community Boards. Staten Island has three. Community Board 1 serving the north shore. Community Board 2 serving the mid-island, and Community Board 3 serving the south shore. Join yours today! Become cheerleaders for your neighborhood! Hold your elected officials accountable! If elected Councilmember for District 50 (mid-island), I will always stand up for my family, friends, and neighbors.
Kathleen Sforza, Candidate for City Council District 50 (mid-island)
An excerpt from the Turning the Tide on Homelessness in NYC report (page 110-111 end of report):
A Compact with Communities to Provide Notification and Consider Input DHS has an open-ended Request for Proposal through which nonprofits propose to develop new shelters. When a shelter is needed, and a proposal is approved DHS will now take the following steps in its improved notification process to engage the community:
• At least 30 days prior to opening a new facility to shelter homeless New Yorkers or 30 days prior to the public hearing on the community-based organization’s contract with DHS to operate the shelter, whichever comes first, DHS will provide notice of details regarding the site—including the social services operator, address, population, and capacity—to the local community board and each of the local elected officials, including the City Council Member, Assembly Member, State Senator, Member of Congress, and Borough President.
• At least 30 days
prior to opening a new facility, DHS will offer to meet with
community officials
to seek input on the planned facility. Community engagement will be customized
with the local elected officials, and DHS will participate in appropriate,
reasonable, and agreed-upon community meetings.
• Following
community engagement, DHS will consider feedback and make efforts to modify the proposal, where possible, in accordance with reasonable concerns raised by the
community.
• At least 30 days
prior to opening a new facility, DHS will notify local NYPD precinct officials
regarding the site, including the address, population, and capacity, and a DHS
security unit run by NYPD will craft a site-specific security plan.
• No more than 30
days after the facility opens, DHS will create a community
advisory board
(CAB) comprised of community members and designees of local elected officials
and the community board to ensure ongoing community collaboration in support of
the shelter facility and to address community concerns.
• In emergency situations during the commercial hotel phaseout described in this plan, when DHS rents additional individual commercial hotel/motel rooms to temporarily house clients, DHS will provide contemporaneous notice when placement occurs during normal business hours to the local community board and each of the local elected officials, including the City Council Member, Assembly Member, State Senator, Member of Congress, and Borough President as well as the local NYPD precinct. If placement occurs after normal business hours, such notification will be provided during normal business hours on the next business day.
• Moving forward
during the commercial hotel phaseout described in this plan,
in circumstances
where DHS rents more than 25 rooms in a newly identified
commercial
hotel/motel, or rents individual rooms at any given commercial hotel/ motel for
more than 30 consecutive days in a calendar year for DHS clients, DHS will
offer to meet with community officials within 30 days following such use to
discuss the use of the affected commercial hotel/motel. Community engagement
will be customized with the local elected officials, and DHS will participate
in agreed-upon community meetings.
As the City
implements its plan to get out of 360 cluster and commercial hotel shelter
locations and replace them with a substantially reduced number of about 90
high-quality, borough-based shelters, as described in Chapter 5, DHS will
continue its efforts to locate new shelters in community districts across each
of the five boroughs and to engage communities with advance notification,
dialogue, and an expanded public awareness initiative.
Comments
Post a Comment