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NYC Needs Thousands of Apartments for the Formerly Incarcerated. 50 Face Furious Opposition

3 Comments

  • susan
    Posted December 6, 2022 at 2:43 pm

    The article captures the neighborhood reactions in a balanced way. It is very interesting how some individuals are open to permanent supportive housing once the concept is fully explained. here’s a quieter chapter from the neighborhood’s past . https://www.bxtimes.com/once-troubled-brooklyn-residents-briefly-find-home-in-pelham-bay-apartment-2/

  • A D
    Posted December 8, 2022 at 7:20 am

    This is an obviously biased piece that does not highlight any of the real reason why the overwhelming majority of Morris Park is against the proposal. In fact the community board passed a sweeping advisory vote to stop the proposal. Here are just some of the reasons why the idea should be tossed:

    Current arguments:
    1. The location has no convenient access to groceries, parking, recreation or suitable jobs.
    2. Nearby bus routes are severely over-crowded.
    3. Jacobi security is currently overwhelmed and cannot sustain the additional responsibilities of this project.
    4. Jacobi health employees are under-staffed and in some cases it takes a year plus to schedule an appointment. How would the tenants get the care they need? How would the community be able to attain the healthcare it needs within a reasonable timeframe?
    5. The 49th precinct currently has difficulty doing police work with stretched resources as is. This project would place additional unsustainable burdens on the precinct.
    6. Providing lighting and security cameras is a pathetic remedy to ensuring safety of tenants, staff and neighbors.
    7. Fortune Society has not been forthcoming on the types of criminal histories of tenants that would be allowed into the building.
    8. The project is directly adjacent to several schools. It is unreasonable to house pedophiles, rapists, murderers etc next to children, other patients and seniors.
    9. There is reasonable likelihood that tenants would have substance abuse issues, which further increases the risk of dangerous occurrences.
    10. Fortune Society has not provided any empirical evidence showing a positive impact on recidivism or other important measures.
    11. Old data suggests that Fortune Society may in fact have a negative impact on recidivism rates.
    12. Fortune Society claims that they do not have the funding to perform an empirical study yet they are able to pay their CEO, Joanne Page, 250k+ per year and they are able to pay for expensive litigation against large companies like Macy’s and Target.
    13. Fortune Society’s chairman, Dennis Kozlowski, was convicted of stealing millions from Tyco International while CEO.
    14. Fortune Society currently operates a similar program in Harlem at a building named Castle Garden and the local community is still expressing opposition and requesting removal.
    15. Fortune Society has demonstrated a poor track record with their ability to handle unruly tenants as illustrated by the case of Roderick Compass.
    16. Fortune Society has provided no data on how they will continue to financially operate the building. We do not know the sources and numbers behind revenues and expenses.
    17. Fortune Society has not provided a lease template of what would be given to tenants.
    18. Morris Park already does its fair share because it is home to the Bronx Psychiatric Center, which houses individuals with serious mental illness. Since this is a state-run facility it is not counted in the fair share methodology.
    19. More than 40% of Rikers inmates have been treated for mental illness. There is a high likelihood that tenants would have mental illness which means that Morris Park would be taking on even more mentally ill individuals.
    20. Rikers island was built on a former landfill and as a result many prisoners and prison staffers have developed diseases from the toxic fumes that spew from the land. Morris Park is now being asked to bear the burden of poor city planning and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
    21. The Bronx has the most shelters and group homes per capita than any other borough. This number does not even consider all of the homeless housed in Bronx hotels.
    22. Bronx shelters also have the highest rate of homeless individuals that are not originally from the Bronx.
    23. There is an attempt to consider Just Home as affordable housing but there is no other affordable housing proposal like this that currently exists in the city. Is is unlike any other proposal because it is not simply affordable housing.
    24. Just Home is not considered a shelter but it would be housing pre-trial detainees and former convicts that would otherwise be homeless. If it is housing people that would otherwise be homeless then it is in fact at least partially a shelter.
    25. The Bronx has become a target for shelters partly because the land is cheaper but it is only cheaper because the city does not allow our communities to flourish and instead exports problems from other boroughs to the Bronx only to the benefit of the other boroughs.
    26. Seniors in retirement that are surviving solely on social security currently have the equity in their home to provide a lifeline in case of an emergency. This project would have a significant impact on reducing that equity by destroying property values.

    • Ang
      Posted January 26, 2023 at 11:17 pm

      You are absolutely correct that the city (and state) dump on The Bronx. Sadly it has been that way since the 1970’s. Hopefully more like you will take a stand.

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