Dear Bedford Stuyvesant Residents:

Of course there’s a level of NIMBYism (not in my backyard) because some of these men are former felons, sexual predators, and/or have mental illness but most importantly these are people. You can’t just shuffle them onto a bus every night to an already uncomfortable and crowded shelter, especially when these men can be more stable and productive members of the community if Bloomberg actually worked on getting more Supportive Housing throughout the city so these men can have permanent housing.

And of course, as a resident of Bed Stuy and as someone who lives 3 blocks from the Sumner armory, I’m concerned. Especially when the men who were supposed to be placed in the armory were to be people with jobs who temporarily needed housing and some of these men will need services these shelters will not provide. Not only that, they’ll be released into the streets at 6am and they’ll be walking around, again, without the assistance they need. Where will they go? What will they do?

So, there is a town hall meeting next Thursday, November 13th, from 7:00-9:00. The commisioner of DHS (Dept of Homeless Services) and other elected officials will be there. I have flyers and a form letter if people are interested in being more involved but here’s the info for the meeting:

St. Christopher-Ottile Beacon Center
(PS 35) 272 MacDonough Street (btwn Lewis and Marcus Garvey)
Thursday November 13, 2008 7-9pm