Shelter planned at 1173 Bergen (near NY Ave)

@sprucenik -- right on. The hypocrisy pouring out of de Blasio's mouth is disgusting.

The same rhetoric is used by the advocates who want to close Rikers Island.

...they seek to have the island replaced by smaller jails located throughout the city.

Do you think DOCS will be spending its money in areas that it gets the fewest beds per dollar?

The Bergen Street and Dean Street Block Associations have now filed an injunction petition with Brooklyn Supreme Court to prevent the City from opening this shelter until the CEQR and ULURP processes has been completed, and an analysis of the Fair Share rules has been undertaken:

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170321/crown-heights/1173-bergen-st-shelter-petition-filed-block-associations

My (non-expert) opinion is that they don't have much of a chance on the ULURP or Fair Share claims but CEQR is broad enough to allow grounds for an injunction if the petitioners are lucky.

So fair share essentially means nothing?

yesbrooklyn said:

So fair share essentially means nothing?

Here is my non-expert, amateur understanding of the fair share criteria (a more detailed version can be found here: 

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/applicants/applicant-portal/fair_share_analysis_description.pdf):

The City Charter has some general language about the "fair distribution of the burdens and benefits associated with city facilities". It is a generic statement of principal with no specific details about how it is to be accomplished, what would constitute an unfair distribution of City facilities, or if/how communities could seek redress. 

In order to flesh this principal out City Planning published a booklet describing criteria for how to locate City facilities (you can read it here:  https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/publications/criteria_lcf.pdf)

This document is the source material for the much-invoked yet little understood "fair share" criteria. There are a few things to note about the criteria:

• The City agency's determination of how the fair share criteria apply to a given project are not made public until ULURP or contract procurement. In the case of the Bergen Street Shelter, this would mean DHS will issue its fair share determination as part of the CORE Services procurement.
• The rules make a distinction between a local or neighborhood facility versus a regional or citywide facility. The procedural hurdles are higher for the latter. I would not be surprised if DHS's emphasis on this being a shelter for former Brooklyn residents is an attempt to put it in the local/neighborhood category.
• Even though the the City Charter calls for a fair distribution of City facilities the rules that the City has written for itself provide it with considerable leeway in siting facilities. Specifically, it does not expressly prohibit over-concentration of City facilities. It only provides administrative safeguards that endeavor to prevent such concentration. And the judge will only base her decision on how well the City followed its own rules in this case (unless the lawsuit challenged the efficacy of the rules themselves in enacting the City Charter's guidance. I haven't read the petition but I doubt this is what it asserts).

Well stated @pierpont.

I would add that the city can argue that it is presently at risk of violating the Callahan rulings, and can likely show several attempts to find alternative sites that did not bear fruit.

NYTimes on deBlasio's calculus: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/26/nyregion/new-york-city-homeless-shelters-de-blasio.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/nyregion

"His administration, after halting shelter openings for a time two years ago, is now planning to open 90 shelters over five years"

When he halted shelter openings, was he under the illusion that Right To Shelter had magically expired?

That Coalition for The Homeless would walk away from their hard won victories?

I wonder how many of these 90 shelters are really not planned at all but DeBlasio is merely soliciting applications from opertunity or subsidy seeking developers?

The bidders have successfully complied with the terms of this RFP:

https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dhs/downloads/pdf/oerfp-with-all-addenda.pdf

A variety of entities are eligible, but they need to incorporate as a 501c3.

As I read this article and the quotes about Crown Heights being targeted as a result of being a neighborhood composed primarily of people of color, I can't help but think to myself, "I wonder what will be the perceived reason in 10 years, when it is no longer composed primarily of people of color?"

http://gothamist.com/2017/04/09/photos_crown_heights_residents_marc.php#photo-1

Bergen St. Homeless Shelter Site Part Of $20M Fraud Scheme

Yowsers!!  DeBlasio, what ever were you thinking?  Didn't you just pull yourself out of the mud?
https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/s/g3fm4/bergen-st-homeless-shelter-site-part-20m-fraud-scheme-lawsuit-says

While I am no fan of DeBlasio, the only thing that is important is whether DHS obtains site control.

That control then must be durable enough to survive whatever drama the owners of the site go through.

Anyone want to predict the opening date?

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170419/crown-heights/ban-opening-crown-heights-homeless-shelter-tro-fair-share-hearing

a.    Mid May

b.    Early June

c.    Late June

d.    Never.

I'm going with A.

My prediction would be an opening in late May. 

Judge Levine states the sides will come together, "with the hope and belief that something good can come of the negotiations."

For those in the "shut-it-down" camp, what exactly is their negotiating chip besides further stalling or preventing it from opening?  

Today is believed to be the day the courts stop postponing the opening, and let it open. https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/crown-heights-homeless-shelter-case-back-court-monday

Boo.

Good news for the liquor store on Nostrand at Prospect. Boo.

City gov has prevailed. Shelter can now open. https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/families-banned-moving-new-brooklyn-homeless-shelter-until-least-june New article using old link

Boo.

This shelter replaces a drug treatment facility. People will complain, but I don't think there will be much difference.

whynot_31 said:

This shelter replaces a drug treatment facility. People will complain, but I don't think there will be much difference.

nope. was not a drug treatment facility, it was a prekids school. this is new for that block, but more of the same for the neighborhood :-(

Oh, you are talking about what it was during business hours. http://www.brooklynian.com/discussion/38821/new-york-christian-center-academy-has-bamboozled-us

I hope that the City actually closes the DHS facilities and stops housing homeless in hotels in our neighborhood, like they promise. Does anyone have a list of the promised closures?

They can't close the hotels until they open facilities at a rate that exceeds the demand for NEW beds. ...remember, they are barely remaining compliant with the consent degrees. The hotels are not going away anytime soon.

To wit: https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20171009/midtown/homeless-shelter-hotels-cluster-sites-bill-de-blasio

So, a few months in...seems like the shelter at 1173 Bergen is pretty quiet. Anyone have any other observations?

They recently received a Christmas tree.

https://twitter.com/PreventCrimeGuy/status/941498134894653440

The struggle to open this shelter is featured in today's NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/nyregion/homeless-shelters-nyc-de-blasio.html