Failed Five Year Plan Focus Bedford Atlantic

Good afternoon. My name is Ryan Gibbs and I represent a grassroots organization called Picture the Homeless. First let me take this opportunity to thank Councilwoman James and Councilman Van for inviting us here. I am here to speak to you about two subjects, the Bedford Atlantic Men’s shelter and Mayor Bloomberg’s 5 year plan to reduce homelessness in New York City.

 

Yesterday marked the four year anniversary of Mayor Bloomberg’s 5 year plan to significantly reduce homelessness in New York City. Picture the Homeless marked this occasion by holding a mock trial against the Mayor to let him know that the 5 year plan is failing the homeless population. We wanted to deliver the guilty verdict to the Mayor at Gracie Mansion and once again homeless people were placed in pens while demonstrating our first amendment rights. We would like to thank faith leaders, allies, elected and appointed officials for their support.

 

Picture the Homeless has been tracking the City’s previous and present failed policies on dealing with the homeless issue in an attempt to get this City to place the homeless population at the table when policy is being designed and implemented on their behalf. As of a few weeks ago, the City felt it was necessary to move the Belleview Men’s Intake Center from Manhattan to the borough of Brooklyn at the Bedford Atlantic Men’s shelter. This was done without any consultation with anyone in the Crown Heights area or the homeless population. The men entering come from throughout the city. They need a centralized assessment shelter. And for the City to relocate the Intake Center and burden one borough proves what we’ve known all along, they have no real plan in which to deal with the homeless problem in this City. They are just moving it around.

 

Homeless people do have a plan. Our Housing not Warehousing legislation would stop landlords from keeping buildings empty and would create tens of thousands of new units of housing.

 

Now Picture the Homeless is glad that elected officials are witnessing what we have identified and attempted to deal with in this administration and we look forward to future collaborations on changing the planning and policy procedures dealing with the homeless. We also know that in order to do this it will take the full commitment of the whole City Council and in particular the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus whose communities contribute large numbers of the families and individuals entering the New York City shelter system. This is why Picture the Homeless is here today to ask all of the officials on these steps today to go back to your communities and ask people that are adversely affected by these policies to assist Picture the Homeless and other organizations on real and comprehensive solutions on this problem that affects us all. Thank You.