Carroll Gardeners (Temporarily) Block Neighborhood Homeless Shelter
Now, no one is saying Carroll Gardens residents are against the homeless. Of course not. But the opposition to a proposed men’s shelter in the building at 165 West 9th Street has been fierce. And now, responding to an application for an injunction from Coalition for Carroll Gardens, a New York Supreme Court ruled to block any further development on the shelter for the time being.
The shelter plan has been a neighborhood button pusher since Housing Solutions USA, a nonprofit working with the city, first proposed to turn the building, which was originally slated to be a ten-unit condo, into a men’s shelter with 170 beds.
“The solution for homelessness is not to warehouse people—17 men to a bathroom in ten crowded apartments,” one local resident told The Carroll Gardens Patch.
“It would have been inhumane and desperate for those men, and a real social and economic burden on the community.”
The project drew wide criticism from local residents since it was first announced to the community board 6 in early October. Marty Markowicz, along with other local legislators wrote a letter to the city to protest the project. The letter possible conflict of interest for Charles Wertzman, a Housing Solutions board member who is also property manager of the building at 165 West 9th.
The city does not normally need permission from the community to move ahead with a housing project: they need only advise local residents of their plans. But because of the stink made by local citizen groups, all concerned parties will get their day in court. It’s the Carroll Gardeners versus Housing Solutions on December 7th.
