A proposed homeless shelter in Coney Island is drawing mixed reactions from residents as debate grows over the planned location on Mermaid Avenue.<\/p>\n
Known for its beaches, amusement rides and busy boardwalk, the neighborhood could soon add a homeless shelter to the area. It is a possibility that has sparked concern among some community members who say they were not properly informed about the proposal.<\/p>\n
Resident Ashley said the lack of communication has left many neighbors feeling uneasy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t know if I should be happy or sad or I’m just concerned. It’s been really hush-hush. I don’t think anybody, any of the locals, even knew that they’re going to open up one, honestly,\u201d says Ashley.<\/p>\n
Questions about transparency have also been raised by Brooklyn Community Board 13 Chair Jeff Sanoff. In a letter sent earlier this month to the Department of Social Services, Sanoff said the board first learned about the proposed shelter through an online post.<\/p>\n
The letter also pointed out that the site is located near routes heavily used by families and children.<\/p>\n
Some residents worry the shelter could create safety concerns in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’re introducing another element into this neighborhood where, you know, there are people who may have mental illness, who may have drug issues, who may just be unstable, into a neighborhood that’s filled with kids,\u201d said resident Jennifer.<\/p>\n
The Department of Social Services says it plans to officially notify both the community and local leaders before any shelter opens and will work with the neighborhood throughout the process.<\/p>\n
Others in the community believe the shelter is necessary and say residents should support people in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they’re going to have to deal with it because we need to help people. A lot of them need shelter, and they need food, and they need somebody to talk to them,\u201d said Erica Lewis.<\/p>\n
Frank, another resident, said while opinions may differ, helping vulnerable people should remain a priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a good idea, but some people beg to differ. If you\u2019re helping the community by helping people that should be in the place, they should be taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposal is still under review. The Department of Homeless Services says any shelter that moves forward would include 24\/7 security aimed at keeping both residents and the surrounding community safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A proposed homeless shelter in Coney Island is drawing mixed reactions from residents as debate grows over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-237431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}