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From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part III: Flooded At 400 McGuinness
A lass named Laura opines:
My husband took these photos of the shelter. They can’t say they weren’t warned. As I’ve said before, a shelter should be a safe place.
Not only do I agree, I find it sad that our city’s homeless have been (once again) rendered homeless. Closing on a (somewhat) related note, has anyone heard what is going on regarding the respite shelter slated to hours our local homeless? Per our City Councilman, Steve Levin, at the last 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting this was to open November 1st. Now I am hearing November 15th. Given that we have just received our first taste of wintry weather I (and I imagine a fair number of my fellow Greenpointers) are quite concerned as to when this wonderful (and long overdue) endeavor will commence.
If anyone has the 411 on what’s going on please share via comments or email at: missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. Your identity will remain anonymous if you so desire. Thanks!
From The New York Shitty Inbox: “Open House” At 400 McGuinness?
This comes via a tipster. Anyone who wishes to view this facility, ask questions (Examples: How will the 20 beds allotted to our local homeless be administered? Are there Polish-speaking staff on site?) and/or voice concerns, this is the time to do it! I for one would like to take a moment to thank Mr. Rumore for (at last) reaching out to the community. However, I suspect I write on the behalf of quite a few folks that a little more advance notice would have been nice…
UPDATE, August 17, 2012: Yours truly has received word that this “Open House” is apparently by invitation only. Fascinating. I have, however, received an account from someone who was permitted to attend. This I will relay via a separate blog post in a bit!
Meet & Greet/Open House At 400 BRC’s New Shelter
Tuesday, August 21, 2012 starting at 10:00 a.m.
400 McGuinness Boulevard
Brooklyn, New York 11222
From The New York Shitty Inbox: A Grand Opening Ceremony For 400 McGuinness?
If the above missive is any indication it would appear there not only will be one but our Mayor will be present.
Here’s the deal folks: whether or not you are for this facility the fact of the matter is we as residents of this community had a right to know it was open. In fact, the operators of this shelter were required to notify both our Community Board and elected officials when this came to pass. This did not happen. Rather, a temporary Certificate of Occupancy was secured, an emergency was declared and this facility was quietly and conveniently opened while Community Board 1 was on summer break.
The issue at hand is one of transparency. One would hope we as citizens/tax payers would be entitled to this from our civil servants. Obviously this is not the case.
New York Shitty Day Starter: 400 McGuinness Is Open For Business
A person we’ll call “M” writes (via comments on this post):
its open now. boyfriend met a guy who showed him an ID, assured him that the shelter was for people who have jobs. he was rushing back to beat the 10pm curfew. saw him the next night, with another guy from the shelter, a little more drunk than the night before, but still personable. so, not sure about the september opening date, unless i slept through august (which i was trying to do).
After some (somewhat) polite nut-twisting (this) I got an answer from our City Councilman. Here it is:
So there have you. Thanks Mr. Levin.
UPDATE, August 15, 2012: It has been brought to my attention that a temporary Certificate of Occupancy was issued for this property in July.
Looks like someone dropped the ball.
Quicklink: An Update Regarding 400 McGuinness
Given the fact this facility is slated to open this upcoming September I feel compelled to pass along this item from the New York Daily News. Follows is a passage I found particularly intriguing:
“Transient residencies are allowed in certain types of manufacturing districts,” he said, noting that 20 beds in the dormitory shelter will be specifically set aside for Greenpoint homeless…”
I for one think this is a splendid step in the right direction— but it does pose some questions. For example: how are these beds going to administered? Taking into account the fact a great many of our community’s homeless are Polish speakers, certainly a Polish speaking staff member will be required. I suspect I speak on the behalf of many of my neighbors (be they for or against this facility) when I write that I want BRC to provide us with a concrete “plan of action” as to how our homeless will be accommodated (Think: outreach, substance abuse counseling, etc.). Methinks this is not too much to ask.
Spotted At 400 McGuinness Boulevard: Smashed
A pair of simple mishaps or a sign of something more sinister? Given the controversy surrounding— if not outright hostility directed at— the proposed 200 bed assessment center at this location I am not so quick to rule out the latter. Therefore I have brought it to the attention of the head of the 94th Precinct, D.I. Hurson. He has assured me he is looking into it.
UPDATE, 9:45 p.m.: I have word from Mr. Hurson no reports have been filed regarding this. Interesting…
Reader Contribution Du Jour, Part I: City Hall
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, New York City
Taken by Christa.
From The New York Shitty Inbox: Rally At City Hall
Filed under: 10007, 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic, Manhattan, New York City
This item comes courtesy of Rami Metal, the Community Liaison for City Councilman Steve Levin. Next Wednesday, September 21st, at 11:00 a.m. Mr. Levin along with Senator Martin Malave Dilan, Assemblyman Joe Lentol and other notables will be present on the steps of City Hall to protest the proposed homeless assessment center for 400 McGuinness Boulevard. As some of you might recall, our City Comptroller (and Mayoral candidate), John Liu, has initiated an investigation into this shelter and others citing “irregularities“. What will happen with remains to be seen. However, in the meantime anyone who has questions or wishes to RSVP should contact Mr. Metal at the above-listed email address or telephone number.
Rally To Stop The Proposed Assessment Center At 400 McGuinness Boulevard
September 21, 2011 at 11:00 a.m.
City Hall
260 Broadway
New York, New York 10007
New York Shitty Day Ender: 400 McGuinness Boulevard
Or: How To Lose Friends & (Further) Alienate People
By all appearances the matter of a 200 bed assessment center for homeless men at 400 McGuinness Boulevard is not a proposal. It is rapidly becoming a reality— and if what I have received in my inbox is any indication, the powers behind this endeavor have inflicted abuse on the one thing Greenpoint is sorely lacking. HINT: it is not homeless people.
It is trees.
Laura (who took the above photographs) writes:
The property owner at 400 McGuinness Blvd. is already a nightmare for the community. I can’t imagine what things will be like when 200 formerly incarcerated individuals take residence there. Today Mike & I observed scaffolding workers actively damaging a city street tree. I identified myself as a citizen pruner and informed the crew that they aren’t supposed to do that. One worker replied “so what”. I replied, “It’s against the law”. He shrugged his shoulders. I saw I was getting nowhere and called Stephanie Thayer who promised to put in a call to the Forestry Dept. I backed up that call with a 311 complaint. Here’s the complaint number. C1-1-676689666
After Mike & I both placed complaints about the tree damage, we were approached by another worker who explained that he “couldn’t get hold of the super” for direction. He talked to one of the DOT workers in the office under the Pulaski Bridge, thinking he worked for the city and would know the rules. The guys were instructed by the DOT worker, “Don’t worry about it. No one will say anything.” Hmph!!!! I responded by telling him that I’m sure the workers are aware of the rules regarding how to construct scaffolding around a city tree. And if not, should be. I further explained that there is a $1,000. fine for damaging a city street tree and will be reporting it.
I and other community members busted their asses to advocate for city street trees and to care for them. The city is not safeguarding the investment of tax dollars by not taking street tree damage seriously. Something has to be done! There is far too much tree damage happening in Greenpoint…
Miss Heather
Reader Comment du Jour: A Modest Proposal
Some of you might recall that I featured this piece of wheatpaste work (which hails from the Pulaski Bridge across the street from 400 McGuinness) a few days ago. Well, my blog post came to the attention of the woman responsible and she left a comment. Here it is:
You can read the statement about Jesus’s picture here:
http://www.insideoutproject.net/#/sp/2tCTEG
When you upload your photo you write a description and give its location. And yes, the idea was to declare the fact that people live here, this is not an anonymous point on the map! I like the idea of posting images of our homeless people… Thank you for posting missheather!
This missive— or more accurately the person who posted it— jogged my memory: I remembered that she has contacted me some time ago with an idea she had. Regrettably, it had fallen between the cracks so yesterday I endeavored to catch up with her. What followed was a very interesting dialogue. One, I will add, which resulted in (what yours truly believes to be) a very good idea*— but more about that in a few. First, let’s take the statement about Jesus alluded to in this woman’s comment. It reads as follows:
Greenpoint sits on the northern tip of Brooklyn and for years has fought attempts to overload this little neighborhood with the services that should really be shared by all New York City neighborhoods (incinerators, waste transfer stations, intake centers). We are home to an enormous sewage treatment center which, in many opinions, including mine, is a marvel of engineering and design! When city government looks our way to host these services, I hope they see the faces of our neighborhood.
Now I would like you, gentle readers, to (re)consider the placement of Jesus. Yes, what this woman is alluding to is our proposed assessment center. It was her thinking that by placing Jesus, a Greenpoint resident, across the street from a facility which is very much opposed by this community she would be in some small way putting a human face on the community which will be impacted by it. I found this to be rather brilliant. So much so, that it got me to thinking— and emailing. Here’s what she and I propose (NOTE: this is still very much in the working stages):
Since this project, InsideOut, is about community awareness/building and given that the man ultimately responsible for this proposed shelter has not seen fit to face the very public he will be saddling with a rotating door of 200 homeless men, perhaps we as a community should use this project to make our presence known? Simply put, we want to get as many Greenpointers as we can to participate and hang posters facing this facility. Since one of the dictates of this project is that these posters must be placed on properties with the owner’s permission, I have reached out to the guys at McGuinness Brake Service (which is located across the street and faces 400 McGuinness Boulevard). As of the writing of this post they seem to be very amenable to the idea. Best of all, it would appear that we can do this as a “group action” per InsideOut’s web site.
Thoughts/ideas, fellow Greenpointers?
Miss Heather
*Especially if we can get our elected officials involved.
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