1,000 signatures reached
To: Council Member, Nantasha Williams, Borough President Donovan Richards, Mayor Adams, Congressman Meeks, and Senator Comrie:
Cambria Hts. Say NO to a shelter or hotel at the old Rite Aid site
To our elected representatives:
The community of Cambria Heights reject any proposal to build a homeless shelter or a hotel to house transient people on/at the current closed Rite Aid site located at 222-14 Linden Blvd, Cambria Heights, Queens NY.
In September 2019, the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) released a study, commissioned by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, on the alleged impacts of homeless shelters on nearby property values. The study concludes that proximity to homeless shelters negatively affects the price of housing. Any type of transient housing will siphon wealth and value out of the community as well as increase quality of life issues in a community that is already experiencing a reduction in safety and an increase in crimes.
Transient housing is not the way to tackle a housing shortage. Permanent affordable housing is. Instead of proposing affordable, permanent housing, communities such as our own are forced to take on the unfair burden of society's issues. Shelters and transient housing are often placed in communities where there are majority black and brown people, compared to wealthy, white communities. The social, economic and political inequities that drive homelessness will only increase due to conditions created to reduce wealth in the black community. According to the Center for Social Innovation, white communities have had a much longer time to build and pass along generational wealth, which serves as a buffer to homelessness. White families living near the poverty line have about $18,000 in wealth, while similarly strapped black families have a median wealth near zero, according to a 2018 Duke University report. Anything that decreases the value of homes in black communities (which are already undervalued in comparison to similar white communities), continues an unbroken policy and history of undermining the economic progress and stability of black communities. This has to stop. When it comes to black and brown communities, multi-generational poverty and instability is engineered, not predetermined.
The people of Cambria Heights say 'NO!" to the building of a shelter or a hotel in our community. We say "NO" to rezoning initiatives that increase the density of our neighborhood and put a strain on our infrastructure, resources and safety. We say "NO" to local officials who attempt to work around us instead of with us. We say "NO" to overdevelopment and gentrification. We say "NO" to attempts to rob us of agency to determine how we want our community to thrive and grow. We say yes to permanent affordable housing that fits in with current zoning regulations - transient housing is a firm "NO!" We expect our local elected officials to work WITH US to ensure that our community does not receive additional stressors - whether it comes in the form of a shelter, transient housing, high density rezoning - all of which destabilize and chip away at the safety, stability and character of our neighborhoods.
The community of Cambria Heights reject any proposal to build a homeless shelter or a hotel to house transient people on/at the current closed Rite Aid site located at 222-14 Linden Blvd, Cambria Heights, Queens NY.
In September 2019, the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) released a study, commissioned by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, on the alleged impacts of homeless shelters on nearby property values. The study concludes that proximity to homeless shelters negatively affects the price of housing. Any type of transient housing will siphon wealth and value out of the community as well as increase quality of life issues in a community that is already experiencing a reduction in safety and an increase in crimes.
Transient housing is not the way to tackle a housing shortage. Permanent affordable housing is. Instead of proposing affordable, permanent housing, communities such as our own are forced to take on the unfair burden of society's issues. Shelters and transient housing are often placed in communities where there are majority black and brown people, compared to wealthy, white communities. The social, economic and political inequities that drive homelessness will only increase due to conditions created to reduce wealth in the black community. According to the Center for Social Innovation, white communities have had a much longer time to build and pass along generational wealth, which serves as a buffer to homelessness. White families living near the poverty line have about $18,000 in wealth, while similarly strapped black families have a median wealth near zero, according to a 2018 Duke University report. Anything that decreases the value of homes in black communities (which are already undervalued in comparison to similar white communities), continues an unbroken policy and history of undermining the economic progress and stability of black communities. This has to stop. When it comes to black and brown communities, multi-generational poverty and instability is engineered, not predetermined.
The people of Cambria Heights say 'NO!" to the building of a shelter or a hotel in our community. We say "NO" to rezoning initiatives that increase the density of our neighborhood and put a strain on our infrastructure, resources and safety. We say "NO" to local officials who attempt to work around us instead of with us. We say "NO" to overdevelopment and gentrification. We say "NO" to attempts to rob us of agency to determine how we want our community to thrive and grow. We say yes to permanent affordable housing that fits in with current zoning regulations - transient housing is a firm "NO!" We expect our local elected officials to work WITH US to ensure that our community does not receive additional stressors - whether it comes in the form of a shelter, transient housing, high density rezoning - all of which destabilize and chip away at the safety, stability and character of our neighborhoods.
Why is this important?
Our neighbors should join this campaign to ensure our community continues to thrive and grow. We did not create the current housing problem - bad policy and greed has done that - but we are expected to pay for it.
How it will be delivered
The petition will be delivered electronically to our Council Member, The Borough President's Office, The Mayor's Office, and to our Congressional and Senatorial representatives. It will also be shared with media.