Greenpoint Neighborhood Coalition

Our Mission

The Greenpoint Neighborhood Coalition, Inc. is comprised of local residents and business owners united in their opposition to a 200-bed men's assessment center for the homeless at 400 McGuinness Blvd at Clay Street. Individuals would come to this location and remain for a maximum 3 week period before they are placed in permanent housing elsewhere. While we recognize that there is an overall need for such a facility, we believe that multiple factors make this a poor and irresponsible location for such an undertaking.

1. Greenpoint is already home to the largest sewage treatment plant in the City of New York, a disproportionate share of waste transfer stations, and a host of longstanding environmental concerns, including the Newtown Creek, which was recently nominated to the federal Superfund list by the United States Department of Environmental Protection (US EPA). This proposal would be one more area in which Greenpoint would be asked to bear more than its cumulative fair share of City services.

2. The Greenpoint Hotel, an SRO located just one block away from the proposed shelter, has been for a long time, and continues to be, a source of controversy and problems for the community. Although this is a private facility and therefore beyond the oversight authority of DHS, the addition of 200 shelter beds just a block away will only exasperate the negative impacts of this facility and potentially derail the proposed shelter's ability to provide a stable and rehabilitative environment for it’s own residents.

3. Greenpoint has an existing homeless population that is and would likely continue to be unserviced. Our own homeless, with roots in the community, do not currently have a center that is Polish speaking nor a “wet shelter” to meet their needs. There have been multiple deaths of these residents due to the lack of service here. While we have a very active food pantry at the Greenpoint Reformed Church there is not enough food to feed the people who currently attend. 400 McGuinness Blvd will be an entrance point for people to the DHS system who will be bound by the structure of a facility that does not tolerate alcohol or drug use while imposing a curfew. It is inevitable that a considerable percentage of this population will deflect from the restrictions imposed by DHS services with this number further magnified by the sheer volume of turnover due to the 3 week maximum stay for assessment. With an increased homeless population we would be less capable to address our own current significant problem.

4. The Pulaski Bridge serves as a 24/7 transportation passageway for local residents to commute by foot and bicycle between Greenpoint, LIC, and Manhattan. While there will be onsite workers securing the interior of the facility at 400 McGuinness Blvd, the homeless inhabitants will be free to roam the local streets and put the safety of our neighborhood's residents in jeopardy. The majority of these people are suffering from substance abuse, mental illness, and other afflictions that very well may inevitably prove to be harmful to the safety and security of the community.

We would love to see our burgeoning Greenpoint neighborhood continue to flourish as a community-oriented and safe place for residents and businesses alike. The Greenpoint Neighborhood Coalition, as a whole, feels that the existence of this shelter will unfortunately impede this goal.

Greenpoint Neighborhood Coalition

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

ABC Eyewitness News - "Brooklyn community fights proposed homeless shelter"

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Greenpoint Gazette, "400 McGuiness: Here We Go Again"

the New York Post, "Levin still a 'no' on HELP USA's McGuinness Shelter

The Brooklyn Paper, "More storm over shelter as residents protest homeless center on McGuinness "

Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Village Voice, "The Heartless Hotel"