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City View Inn No Longer Housing Homeless Families, Will Shelter Up to 100 Men

City View Inn at 33-17 Greenpoint Ave.

Jan. 19, 2018  By Nathaly Pesantez

The City View Inn, which has been used by the city to provide temporary shelter for homeless families, will now be sheltering up to 100 single men, only, in a last-minute decision that left many families at the shelter in shock.

The hotel, located at 33-17 Greenpoint Ave., was housing 54 families since July until this week.

Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said the Department of Homeless Services did not notify his office about the change, and that they only learned about the news when ABC-7 reported it early Thursday morning.

The news outlet also reported that families at the City View Inn were completely blindsided by the change, which came on Wednesday night. A letter given to residents of the shelter only gave them a few hours to pack their belongings and leave the hotel.

“It is an outrage that DHS has acted with such incompetence and cruelty,” Van Bramer said. “To rip these families and children away from their homes at a moment’s notice only serves to traumatize the most vulnerable among us.”

The surprise change has placed the DHS under fire again for not giving the community enough notice on their plans. News that the City View Inn itself was being used to house homeless families came as a surprise to many, for example, in October—three months after the families moved in. The DHS, however, maintains that notified the community board 24 hours prior.

The DHS was also criticized for their short notice on the Best Western hotel at 38-05 Hunters Point Ave., which began housing homeless families late September.

“It is also unacceptable that once again, DHS has acted without notifying community leaders and elected officials,” Van Bramer said. “I am angry at DHS for consistently mismanaging the homelessness crisis in New York City and in Queens, and for not being able to move the ball forward on reducing homelessness in our city. The city absolutely must do better.”

The DHS did not respond to questions about the City View Inn by press time.

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51 Comments

Click for Comments 
Maxine

I’m sandwiched between these two homeless shelters. I own a home. I have children with autism. The anxiety is just overwhelming. I’ve had a homeless man smoking weed in front of my house and then yelling at me. I’ve seen drug exchange between a man and a woman that looked like she was hooking. And I’ve seen parents pushing their babies in strollers while smoking week at 6 am. A bodega owner witnessed a woman from the shelter running away from her attacker into the store with her attacker right behind her and drag her out by her hair. This is just the start. It only escalates. Sickening that better solutions can’t be had by people that work to do better whether elected by the community or acquiring the job.

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Homeless Man

I am one of those homeless man. If you guys guarantee that my identity will remain anonymous, I am willing to offer 4 hours of volunteer hours on Saturdays and Sundays to work for the community.

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Lic Neighbor

Once again Jimmie Van Bramer when will you fight and stand up for this community?? 100 homeless men coming and housed in the neighborhood, most under employed, drug and alcohol addicted for sure. Are they paying at least $20.00 per night to be housed? Have them pay something. I will invest in a camera system around the perimeter of my house, first to catch the SOB who has his dog poop next to the sidewalk tree and won’t bend over to pick up after his freakin dog and for the added security. Next up the homeless community shelter being built on 38th street site of Former VG Nichols Furniture store on Qns Blvd. If know this, how can Jimmie Van Bramer claim he’s not aware and was not notified during its grand opening? It won’t be a Trader Joe’s coming to the neighborhood. It’s a shame what is happening here.

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Anonymous

because there was NOBODY running against him if there was everyone would have VOTED him out that is why

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tootiestooters

Jimmy cares only about his street and pleasing the crazies who do the marches across the bridge.

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LI Press

@Tootiestooters- Somebody who is constantly quoting from Fox News and infowars has no business calling anybody crazy.

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bertha

Homeless shelters have security guards and nightly curfews. Even if i lived close to this place it would not matter to me. The people of NYC knew the mayor would continue his homeless agendas and they voted him a second term. The people have spoken. Enough said! leave Bill alone!

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Steve

If you lived near the homeless shelters and were aware of your surroundings, you would know that the “curfews” are ignored and not enforced. People outside smoking weed all night AND as early as 6:30 in the morning. I know because I have to walk by every day.

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Homeless Man

Really? We are monitored like if we are criminals. Log in, log out. We can’t even use hats, neither.

Question, did the crimes have raised???

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gilgo

Last week I saw an article where the Billionaires Row is getting a converted hotel as a shelter there. The outrage there was amazing talk about a NIMBY crowd.

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Lic Neighbor

Only problem those homeless individuals on 58th street in Manhattan will be screened. It won’t be the run if the mill homeless person, it will be the homeless person who has a job, professional, with in house counseling services.

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Fan of doughboy park

People only want to complain and scapegoat the most venerable among us. Blaming the very poor for the world’s problems is the way those in power want it … as long as you are looking the other way, they’ll keep winning.

When sensible solutions come up to help homeless … People say no. They think, but where’s my cut? Believe me, the poor would help you in return if they could.

I love Sunnyside, just not the some of traffic hateful rhetoric that gets passed around in these comments

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Sean

Fan of doughboy- Nobody is scapegoating the poor. Welfare hotels are a scam and only benefit the hotel owner. Proud owners who hide their identities in LLC’s and partnerships. City taxpayers shelled out a record $648,000 to house the homeless in hotels for just one night last year, according to a report obtained by The Post. The staggering figure included a block of 10 rooms at a hotel near Times Square at a cost of $549 each, according to the city comptroller’s report. We went through this in the 80’s and many of us remember the assaults, murder and rapes in such places as The Prince George was purchased and converted by New York City into a welfare hotel in 1970’s—one of the most dangerous and notorious in the city. The Bryant (2 decapitations) on 54th and B’Way, The Latham, on East 28th Street in Manhattan; Bullshippers, Plaza North, Seagate Terrace and Shore, in Brooklyn; Alps, Bronx Park, Paradise and Prospect, in the Bronx; Beachview, Cross Bay and Mets Motor Inn, in Queens. This is a repeat of the very expensive and failed policies of the 80’s.

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Fan of doughboy park

The point was, the only reason the city has to sneak homeless in to hotels is because every time a solution to help homeless (the best one is to get them apartments) it gets shut down and is seen as a handout, even though it is much more economical, stable, and healthier for those invloved. The hotels are a bad idea for sure, but it’s what it comes down to when there no one will agree to any other solution on account of NIMBY mindset, and in general — scapegoating poor for all crime.

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Sean

I grew up in Sunnyside in the 60’s and 70’s and the overwhelming majority of my friends and relatives, most of whom were college graduates with good jobs who were priced out of the city in one way or another ( what you got for the money just wasn’t enough, just flat out too expensive, bad schools so private schools were a necessity..etc.). They never once asked the gov’t to subsidize their wish or desire to remain in the city, they moved to places they could afford, it wasn’t the end of the world. More than 400,000 New Yorkers reside in NYCHA’s 328 public housing developments across the City’s five boroughs. Another 235,000 receive subsidized rental assistance in private homes through the NYCHA-administered Section 8 Leased Housing Program. Now lets throw an additional $5K a month per person for hotel rooms to house the “homeless”. On December 5, 1979, the New York State Supreme Court ordered the City and State to provide shelter for homeless men in a landmark decision that cited Article XVII of the New York State Constitution (Callahan v. Carey which was settled as a consent decree.) needs to be overturned or revisited. According to you ” to help homeless (the best one is to get them apartments) “. Like the apartment that was given to two heroine addicts from Portland, ME? Enough already if you can’t afford to live here move. I would love to live on Central Park or in Douglas Manor, do you think the gov’t could hook me up?

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Fan of doughboy park

This is not a zero-sum situation, just because someone else gets some help doesn’t mean you lose. If you want to be poor and homeless just to get the bare minimum that they get, then by all means go for it. No one wants to be poor. God bless

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Mike

Doughboy fan- zero sum?? These housing programs are costing tax payers hundreds of billions of dollars annually..

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Anonymous

put them all in the empty new york city housing projects throughout the 5 boros — they have been keeping 100’s and more empty for years now .

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Kelly M

George – Your babbling is so way out there, I don’t even know what topic you’re even spouting off about. You’re a bore.

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Lizzie

Where are the families going? Oh and just a reminder that these people living in the hotels are humans, so let’s not just reduce them to “drug addicted and mentally ill”. I’m sure many of them have their own strengths and are trying to find permanent housing. K?

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Sean

Just tell that to Edward Karakash, 29, a homeless man called him a “cracker” and slugged him outside of the Queens Blvd. car repair shop where he works, on Dec. 18. The auto shop is next to Quality Inn which the city has converted into a homeless shelter.

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Jay

Sean, an isolated incident is not indicative of the behavior of an entire group. While I extend my condolences to Edward, he should not be elevated to a martyr to justify denying housing to the homeless, especially during the Winter months when they need it most.

Ironically, studies have shown the creating housing for homeless individuals and families is one of the easiest ways to increase chances of their employment and decrease crime.

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Orrin Hatch's invisible eye glasses routine

Jay- I live on 54th street near the hotel and can tell you first hand this is not an isolated incident, every couple of days the cops are at thay location. There are fights and arguments on a regular basis. My neighbor asked two women from the hotel not to smoke weed on his stoop and that night a rock was thrown through his window. Don’t forget the tragic case of the baby who died there.

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Sean

Jay, Welfare Hotels at $5K a month don’t create permanent housing, they create wealth for the owner (always hidden in stacked partnerships or LLC because they’re so proud of their accomplishment and they want the world to know who they are), welfare hotels warehouse the homeless. The welfare hotel system was a proven scam when it was forced on the unsuspecting public in the 1980’s and its a scam just the same this time around. I know I worked at the Prince George in the 80’s.

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Schumers glasses down on nose again

100 men? Good thing the closest residents are across the street and dead.

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urbo

yeah it’s really prime real estate around there, there’s a wonderfully scented highway, a polluted creek, a beautiful cemetery and movie studios, and if you squint you get a view of the poopy plant!

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Travis Pickle

JVB is lying. This is outrageous. And deBlaz is starting to make me miss Bloomberg, which I didn’t think was possible.

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Anonymous

Well Mr. JVB is upset at this well we as constitutents are upset with him regarding never notifying anyone about the “Quality Inn” which became a homeless shelter in May of 2016 and other things that he does — he could care less about what goes on in his neighborhood he got elected again because NOBODY ran against him — and the CRIME is up 100% since these shelters have been put all through the neighborhood and he Mr. JVB knows all about it — and does NOTHING again

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BKS40

This has become an intolerable situation not only for the residents of this area but the displaced families as well. It was bad enough that the residents living on the south side near the Sunnyside/LIC border had to deal with 2 permanent homeless shelters as well the La Quinta being used as a nonpermanent shelter, at least most were mothers with children. A far cry safety wise from 100 single men. While the City View is in a semi industrial area, people do live in Blissville. Also most commercial activity takes place a short walk into Sunnyside. There are 2 elementary schools within a short walk of these shelters. That many have been a good reason to put homeless families nearby but is now a nightmare for parents worried about drug addicted mentally ill men wandering the area.
While not happy about the amount of homeless shelters in our general area, I can’t help but feel for the families that lost their shelter. What happens to them ? I am sure children were registered in local schools. How can 100 single men take priority over homeless children ? That is a question our polictical “leaders” need to answer.

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Sunnyside Truther

So while it seems rather apparent that the community has zero input on these decisions and our elected officials don’t really care since they know they’ll easily get re-elected..let’s address another issue. So we had 54 families with children in this facility, ok not much we can do about that. But how in the world does anyone think that having 100 single homeless men is going to make this facility, or this area any better. Just wait until we start seeing the increase in crime due to the drugs and prostitutes that will infiltrate that part of Greenpoint Ave. which is already pretty industrial. Terrible decision hope the same doesn’t happen to the former hotel on 38th St.

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record low unemployment

O stop- the 100 men are hardworking individuals that just cant seem to get ahead. the will go to work ever morning by 7 and home by 6, by then they will be too tired to hang out on the corner or roam the streets at night.

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George

In other words JVB was elected because he is uniformed and has no idea what’s going on in his own district?

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Anonymous

Okay Kelly, JVB is informed and knows exactly what is going on in his district. He just chooses to do nothing about it. Better?

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Sean

Anonymous stalker- It’s the fault of people like you who don’t even turnout and vote therefore allowing a degenerate who states his goal is to put 90 shelters through out the five boroughs to become mayor. Keep up the trolling its working out just great.

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Anonymous

Wrong Anonymous, Sean. I always vote, it rarely helps, especially in this district.

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George

Poor Kelly the truth hurts you so much it causes great pain and the illusion that you actually know something other than petting your cat in a very weird and sick way.

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Carbie Barbie

I find it hard to believe that people find it hard to believe that a gigantic, bureaucratic city agency might be so incompetent or malicious that it did not inform the city council member about this change.

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