Dear government shouldn't homeless shelters be in areas that cost the least???

Several elected officials sponsored a protest this week in front of the 95th Street buildings, which are side by side between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. The buildings are privately owned, and the city is paying roughly $3,300 a unit a month, with two or three people living in each unit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/nyregion/nyc-homeless-shelters-in-record-demand-new-facilities-planned.html

No, that creates large, concentrated populations of people with too much time on their hands. The creation of large, high density public housing projects in the decades after World War II is considered a dismal failure, all it did was create ghettos full of unemployed, or underemployed people, who become targets for drug peddlars and other criminal gangs. The most successful social housing programs integrate social housing with non-social housing so that social housing residents have working neighbors and their children have the opportunity to see an example of working families and get to go to halfway decent schools.

You're just jealous AW because you're not on that gravy train.

AW-

Don't worry, the city is only paying $3300 a month because they are in a pinch.

Soon, the city will get their acts together and award contracts that pay non-profits only a small percentage of that rate.

As the article you cite notes, the wealthy folks are not going to stand for class integration.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/downloads/pdf/dhs_media_kit.pdf

http://council.nyc.gov/html/budget/PDFs/2012/dhs_071.pdf

bohuma said:

No, that creates large, concentrated populations of people with too much time on their hands. The creation of large, high density public housing projects in the decades after World War II is considered a dismal failure, all it did was create ghettos full of unemployed, or underemployed people, who become targets for drug peddlars and other criminal gangs. The most successful social housing programs integrate social housing with non-social housing so that social housing residents have working neighbors and their children have the opportunity to see an example of working families and get to go to halfway decent schools.

You have a point. My friend was in an abusive relationship and her and her daughter were in a homeless shelter. They were able to get into a great program run through this group

http://fortunesociety.org/category/housing-services/castle-gardens/

They purchased a building and completely modernized it. There are former homeless single parents there as well as non-violent parolees. They have on-site counselors, services, etc. It really was a blessing that she got into this program.