Residents show fervent disgust during homeless shelter meeting
As the discussion began during the town hall at St. Helena Church, and at some other times during the Friday,
May 3 meeting, the crowd listened calmly. Photo by Laura Stone
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BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
The controversy surrounding
a proposed men’s
shelter boiled over last week.
At a Parkchester town hall
on Friday, May 3, an angry
crowd gathered at St. Helena
Church for an informational
session about the proposed
NYC Department of Homeless
Services men’s shelter that is
stirring up controversy.
The shelter, to service 165
single homeless men at 2008
Westchester Avenue, would
be an employment shelter
where the individuals would
be working or seeking work.
But the town hall hosted
by Senator Luis Sepulveda
and Assemblywoman Karines
Reyes ended in an uproar
and confusion as a sizeable
number of the attendees
were upset that they were not
allowed an opportunity to
express their views that the
location wasn’t appropriate
for a men’s shelter.
Many in the crowd were
holding signs reading ‘No
Men’s Shelter,’ ‘Protect Our
Community,’ and the like.
Sepulveda descended the
stage to calm the crowd at the
end of the evening and spoke
to a few of the frustrated individuals,
some of whom had
swarmed the stage earlier after
hearing the shelter probably
couldn’t be stopped.
“There has been a lot of
misinformation going back
and forth as to what this shelter
will be,” the senator said
after the town hall. “The intention
of the town hall was
to clarify information so they
have a clear understanding.”
Sepulveda said he believed
that certain individuals with
an agenda had planned to
disrupt the meeting, possibly
encouraged by others seeking
political gain.
While he said he doesn’t favor
the shelter’s site because
it is in a congested commercial
area, Sepulveda, a lawyer
for 30 years, said legally he
doesn’t believe a court challenge
to the ‘as of right’ shelter
plan would prove successful.
Sepulveda said that a rumor
claiming sexual predators
would be among those
living in the shelter when
it opens was false. He said
DHS screens for sex offenders
and places them in a separate
shelter.
The senator said he is
working behind the scenes to
get a more favorable outcome
for the community.
“We are very disappointed
that things didn’t
go as planned,” said a Reyes
spokeswoman Glendalys Delgado.
“We wanted to share information
with our neighbors
that was given to us by DHS
and the provider, but unfortunately
we weren’t able to
get that information relayed
because of the uproar,” she
continued
Town hall attendee Afzal
Helal feared that women
and children would be disrespected
by the shelter residents.
“This community doesn’t
want a single men’s shelter,”
said another attendee Syed
Kasru. “They are not against
shelters, but they want this
one somewhere else in the
Bronx.”
Annabel Palma, former
councilwoman, represented
DHS at the town hall.
“Every neighborhood
across New York City has a
part to play in addressing
this citywide challenge,”
stated DHS spokesperson
Arianna Fishman. “The city
and not-for-profi t social service
provider partner Samaritan
Village are moving
forward with opening this
facility as soon as possible to
give individuals experiencing
homelessness from the
Bronx the opportunity to be
closer to the communities
they called home as they get
back on their feet.”
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