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Family shelter plan floated in Ridgewood: Addabbo

By Sarina Trangle

As Glendale and Middle Village gathered last week to assess their strategy for stopping plans to build a homeless shelter on Cooper Avenue, word of a second proposed facility in Ridgewood spread.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said Providence House, a Brooklyn based non-profit assisting women and children in need, wanted to shelter homeless women and children in the convent of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal.

The legislator said he had not been able to deduce how many people the group intended to house in the 62-81 60th Place building and whether the project was a charitable church initiative or a city-aligned proposal.

“Supposedly there is a proposal to go in there. There’s space in the rectory there and so it would be to address women in need of placement while victims of domestic violence,” Addabbo said. “These sites are anonymous because they do not want the abuser finding out where the victim is.”

Our Lady of Miraculous Medal and Providence House did not respond to requests for comment.

The Archdiocese Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees Catholic churches in Brooklyn and Queens, said it does not comment on lease agreements, but noted that many churches opt to rent property for programs assisting the homeless.

“The church has always been a proponent for fair and affordable housing, which is difficult to come by in our city. When people find themselves in difficult circumstances, the church takes very seriously the words of our Lord: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,’” the diocese said in a statement.

The city Department of Homeless Services did not respond to inquiries about whether it was involved in the Ridgewood negotiations.

The people behind the proposal may be relevant to many in western Queens.

Several Glendale and Middle Village residents have railed against DHS’s intentions of contracting with Samaritan Village, a human services agency headquartered in Briarwood, to operate a homeless shelter for 125 families in an abandoned factory at 78-16 Cooper Ave. Many have accused the city of trying to warehouse vulnerable New Yorkers in an environmentally unsound facility and criticized the government for failing to stem the rising number of homeless people.

A study commissioned by DHS in July determined that opening the 51,000-square-foot residence where a four-story, red brick building now stands would not spur significant adverse impacts.

The surrounding neighborhoods then forged the Glendale/Middle Village Coalition to raise money and hire an attorney to fight the plans.

Hundreds showed up at the group’s first meeting Oct. 1, according to Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association.

He said about 80 people signed up to be block captains by spearheading fund-raising on the street and keeping their neighbors informed of developments.

Holden estimated the coalition had amassed at least $30,000 toward its goal of $130,000.

Christopher Murray, the group’s attorney, said he intended to file a lawsuit challenging the city’s environmental study this week.

“Speaking to other attorneys who have filed these lawsuits. It’s not that they lose the case based on merit. They lose the suit because the organization that filed the case runs out of money, and we don’t want that to happen,” Holden said.

Meanwhile, City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) wrote Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina Monday to urge the city School Construction Authority to seize a 9-acre parcel when it was available and use it to construct a school complex in a severely crowded school district. She also sent a petition supporting her idea with 3,000 signatures.

Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at stran‌gle@c‌ngloc‌al.com