Muslim community center protests opening of youth shelter
Mohammad Ali (front, l) and Baitul Maamur Jame Masjid Mosque members
voiced their opposition to Covenant House on St. Peters Avenue.
Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
BY ALEX MITCHELL
The Zerega community
continues its relentless opposition
to a homeless shelter’s
establishment at 1550 St. Peters
Avenue.
The Covenant House shelter,
serving runaway youth,
would use the three-fl oor, recently
rehabilitated building
on the corner of Glebe
Avenue to temporary house
30 males and 10 females between
the ages 16 to 24. Most
of the youngsters originally
hailed from the Bronx, but
more recently lived in Covenant
House’s 120-bed homeless
shelter near Manhattan’s
Port Authority Bus Terminal,
according to spokesperson for
the sponsor.
The east Bronx community
isn’t protesting Covenant
House itself, but rather the logistics
and the lack of transparency.
When originally announced
in fall of 2018, neither
Councilman Mark Gjonaj’s offi
ce or Community Board 10
were notifi ed or included in
the plan’s implementation.
As a matter of fact, that selected
location has had many
in Westchester Square and
Zerega literally up in arms,
protesting the soon-to-be shelter.
Westchester Square residents and Westchester Square Civic Association
members let their voices be heard. Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
One religious leader, Mohammad
Ali, joined dozens of
residents in a rally outside of
Covenant House on Saturday,
January 19.
His Muslim community
center, Baitul Mamur Jame
Masjid at 1511 St. Peter’s Avenue
will be a neighbor to Covenant
House and he has concerns.
“They need to change the
location,” he said, justifying
his stance, noting that it’s in
the heart of his community,
in close proximity to another
shelter, and could be an issue
with neighboring Pearly
Gates Park. The 45th Precinct
has identifi ed the playground
as a crime ‘hotspot’ that was
provided additional monitoring
and camera surveillance
due to the criminal activity
that is present during the evening
hours.
While residents and community
leaders are taking to
the streets in protest, Gjonaj
is fi ghting the problem from a
legal angle.
“We are exercising every
legal option we have, I’m not
giving up on this,” Gjonaj
said, expressing his total opposition
housing in the Bronx.
Gjonaj specifi ed his issues
are with the location of Covenant
not a condusive environment
for the youth that will enter
the program, not the concept
of a youth homeless shelter.
“There is no clear path on
this, but we are not giving up,”
the councilman mentioned.
Gjonaj admitted that his
13th Council District may not
have a choice but to accept
Covenant House’s latest facility.
“If we can’t stop it we can
New York City Office of Management and Budget (NYCOMB)
to anymore supportive
House, saying that it is
Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 6 ANUARY 25-31, 2019 BTR
Hunts Point Resiliency Project
Early Notice and Public Review of a Proposed Activity in a 100-Year Floodplain
certainly shape it by negotiating
favorable terms with City
Hall,” he said.
Finally, the councilman intends
to make City Hall agree
that he and the community
must be given advance notice
and input into any future proposed
developments for the
area.
“We’re not done fi ghting,
though,” Gjonaj said.
The next round of the fi ght
will be on Friday, January 25
at 1:30 p.m. when Ali and other
community activists will hold
another rally to protest Covenant
House outside its proposed
facility.
To: All Interested Agencies, Groups and Individuals:
This is to give notice that The City of New York (the City) is proposing to undertake activities within a 100-year floodplain relating to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Developments (HUD)
Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. President Obama signed the “Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013” (Public Law 113-2) into law on January 29, 2013. Among other
appropriations, the Act included $16 billion in CDBG-DR funds “for necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization in the most
impacted and distressed areas resulting from Hurricane Sandy.” This notice is required by Section 2(a)(4) of Executive Order (EO) 11988 for Floodplain Management and is implemented by HUD Regulations found
at 24 CFR 55.20(b) for the HUD action that is within and/or affects a floodplain.
There are three primary purposes for this notice. First, people who may be affected by activities in floodplains and those who have an interest in the protection of the natural environment should be given an opportunity
to express their concerns and provide information about these areas. Second, an adequate public notice program can be an important public educational tool. The dissemination of information about floodplains can
facilitate and enhance Federal efforts to reduce the risks associated with the occupancy and modification of these special areas. Third, as a matter of fairness, when the Federal government determines it will participate
in actions taking place in floodplains, it must inform those who may be put at greater or continued risk.
Project Description:
The Hunts Point Resiliency Pilot Project (Proposed Project) is intended to reduce the vulnerability of the Hunt Point peninsula to impacts of coastal flooding by installing multiple energy generation and storage
technologies and enabling at least three days of backup power in the event of an emergency. The Proposed Project is located at: 321-477 Food Center Drive (Site D), 101 Food Center Drive (Produce Market), 361
Food Center Drive (Meat Market), 730 Bryant Avenue (MS 424), 1290 Spofford Avenue (PS 48), 400 Food Center Drive (Krasdale Foods), 550 Food Center Drive (Anheuser-Busch), and 600 Food Center Drive
(Citarella/Sultana) in Hunts Point, Bronx, New York.
The Proposed Project includes the following components:
• Microgrid with Tri-Generation to support the Produce and Meat Markets: a tri-generation system consisting of two reciprocating internal combustion natural gas engine generators with additional equipment to
provide hot and chilled water supply (heavy recovery hot water generators, two two-stage absorption chillers, and two single stage absorption chillers). The tri-generation system will be located on a vacant lot
within the FDC area named Site D. The tri-generation system will operate year-round and supply electricity to the Con Edison grid that will offset a significant portion of the electrical loads of the Produce Market,
while exporting hot water to the Meat Market and chilled water to the Produce Market. This component will also include the construction of plug-in electric chargers for the refrigerated trucks at the Produce
Market, significant reducing air emissions to the neighborhood.
• Community Facility Solar/Storage Installations: rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) generation and battery energy storage for both Middle School 424 and Primary School 48. The solar PV and battery storage will
enable the schools to provide a community shelter for the public during emergency situations.
• Emergency Backup Generation: four 275 kilowatt mobile diesel generators to provide resilient power supply to important citywide food distributors and employers in the FDC during emergency situations,
including Citarella/Sultana, Anheuser-Busch and Krasdale Foods.
Approximately 65.6 acres of the Proposed Project area are located within the 100-year floodplain of the Bronx River and upper East River. Project components within the 100-year floodplain will be flood-protected,
elevated, or located outside identified flood hazard areas. The solar and storage systems at MS 424 and PS 48 are outside of the 100-year and 500-year floodplain and, therefore, are not vulnerable to coastal flooding.
The mobile generator units would be stored off-site above the 100-year floodplain, and would be deployed on elevated racking systems at the FDC facilities in advance of flood events and/or power outages. The trigeneration
facility would be constructed on piles installed in bedrock and elevated.
The design flood elevations (DFEs) for the mobile generator units and the tri-generation facility are calculated based on the Citys Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines (Version 2.0), and account for the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (PFIRM) 1% Annual Chance Flood Elevation plus freeboard and sea level rise for future conditions. New infrastructure or equipment
that cannot be elevated as part of the Proposed Project will be installed underground, storm-hardened, or designed to operate safely in a submerged condition.
All interested persons, groups and agencies are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed use of federal funds to support a project located in a floodplain. The City is interested in alternatives and
public perceptions of possible adverse impacts that could result from the project as well as potential mitigation measures. Maps of the proposed action sites and maps of the proposed location of activities within a
100-year floodplain are available at: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/cdbgdr/documents/environmental-records.page
Written comments should be sent to NYCOMB at 255 Greenwich Street, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10007, Attention: Calvin Johnson, Assistant Director CDBG-DR or via email at CDBGDR-Enviro@omb.nyc.gov.
The minimum 15 calendar day comment period will begin the day after the publication and end on the 16th day after the publication. Such comments should be received by OMB on or before February 11, 2019.
City of New York: Bill de Blasio, Mayor
New York City Office of Management and Budget: Melanie Hartzog, Director
Date: January 25, 2019
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