From The Queens Chronicle – December 28, 2015
Dear Editor:
Re “Mayor pledges 15,000 new homeless units” (Nov. 25):
In the Nov. 25 edition, Queens Chronicle Contributor Etta Badoe reports on Mayor de Blasio’s plan to build 15,000 units of supportive housing. As the article indicates, while elected officials do support the plan, they may also push back on the siting of supportive housing in their district. Before they do so, we urge them to consider the critical role supportive housing can play in their communities and to dialogue with its providers about that role.
In the article, Councilmember Donovan Richards touches on the concerns Southeast Queens elected officials have about supportive housing. While he acknowledges the mayor’s plan constitutes “a huge step in the direction towards solving the city’s homeless crisis,” he also states, “We just have to ensure that the new housing units are not in Queens Community Boards 12 and 14, since they are already overburdened with homeless shelters.” These concerns are understandable. According to Citizens Committee for Children Keeping Track data, neighboring CB 13 ranks second out of 59 New York City community districts in Tier II homeless shelter capacity. A few places down the list is CB 12, which ranks 10th in Tier II homeless shelter capacity.
Still, just as elected officials celebrate a new affordable housing development in their district, they should also celebrate a new supportive housing residence. After all, supportive housing is not a shelter. Residents sign a lease or make another rental agreement. Residences are designed to enhance tenant self-esteem with the goal to become integrated community members.
Also, in several respects, a new supportive housing residence represents an opportunity for the community to have truly affordable housing for its residents. This is because supportive housing residences are increasingly a mixed-use model with a certain number of units reserved for low-income people residing in the community.
In late 2012, Urban Pathways opened the Residence at Hallet’s Cove in Astoria, a 52-unit supportive housing residence for individuals with homeless and mental health backgrounds. Its siting came with much pushback. The community worried it would discourage businesses from moving into the area and expressed concern over the oversaturation of social services. However, as evidenced by the development of Hallet’s Peninsula, these concerns have not materialized.
As the city implements the mayor’s supportive housing plan, we and other supportive housing providers look forward to working with communities throughout Queens to invest and become part of the community. This way, the mayor’s plan is not just a huge step in solving the city’s homeless crisis, but a huge step in helping the city’s communities.
Nicole Bramstedt,
Director of Policy, Urban Pathways, Inc.
Manhattan