Hundreds of Bronx homeowners and residents packed a community room at the Westchester Square Public Library on Saturday afternoon [September 12] to speak out against a transitional homeless shelter opened in their neighborhood without notification or a fair share analysis of what many claim is an over saturation of social service programs in the area.
Moderated by City Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx District 13), residents and homeowners heard from several area elected officials, including State Senator Jeff Klein (Deputy Majority Leader – D-WF), Assemblyman Michael Benedetto (D-Assembly District 82), and local merchant and organizational leaders. Vacca said the City's Department of Homeless Services has established a policy of opening transitional homeless facilities in communities throughout the City without first conducting saturation analysis hearings or community board notification – as it is required to do by law – because of a self proclaimed "state of emergency."
"No neighborhood in New York City is exempt from this new mandate," Vacca stated, noting that DHS has revealed plans to repeat this performance in other areas of the Bronx and in other boroughs.
Vacca held a meeting with local community leaders and NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Commissioner Robert Hess on August 28. At the meeting, Hess admitted to not conducting prior notification or analysis hearings, blaming the failure on an oversight by Basic Housing, Inc., a subcontracted service that the City uses as a go between with landlords of "distressed properties," and DHS.
Basic Housing was charged recently in a Comptroller's Office audit with over billing the City more than $1.9 million, and for failing to provide adequate services to homeless families in its care. Basic Housing is providing service at the St. Peters Avenue facility without a contract, and the Comptroller has called upon DHS and the Mayor to cease payments immediately. The building, which is located at 1564 St. Peters Avenue, is a new construction building, which recently advertised two-bedroom apartments for $1,400 per month and a first-floor child care program. Young couples from the area who had called to apply for apartments were outraged that after initially being told that they would be contacted for application processes, follow-up calls went unanswered and the new building was converted into a shelter.
DHS pays the landlord $90 per day for each unit occupied by a homeless family, or $1,500 a month more than the landlord can get on the open renter's market. Many argue that the policy is a disincentive to builders who make more by constructing properties for the homeless rather than middle-class apartments, which are at a premium throughout the City. Homeowners charge that the mere presence of a shelter in these bedroom communities deflates property values, citing that they are forced to pay for the shelters through their tax dollars but are given no chance to voice their concerns because the City has stopped notifying the community.
In Westchester Square, the problem is made worse by some 22 other social service programs operating in a small 40-square block area.
"One community cannot be called upon to shoulder the burden for the entire City," proclaimed Senator Klein. He noted that the Westchester Square community had shown care and compassion for State and City programs housed there for years, and that this is not a "not in my neighborhood" complaint so much as it is a "no more in my neighborhood" plea against over-saturation in the area. Assemblyman Benedetto was more animated, stating that "this is a Mayor telling the people of the Bronx to drop dead."
Local merchants and homeowners have united and retained the legal services of ex-Assemblyman Stephen B. Kaufman to challenge what they call the failure of the City to provide due process to the people of the community. A lawsuit is expected to be filed this week, followed by a press conference and rallies outside City offices and Bloomberg for Mayor Campaign offices.
