Windsor Terrace Community Board Forming Committee on Homelessness

WINDSOR TERRACE, BROOKLYN — Community Board 7, which represents Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace, will host the first meeting of its new Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness Issues this January.

The meeting will take place on Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the CB 7 office, located at 4201 4th Ave. (the entrance is on the building's 43rd Street side).

At the meeting, attendees will discuss the structure of the committee, and speak with representatives from the city's Human Resources Administration and Department of Homeless Services.

According to DHS, the city is renting rooms at four neighborhood hotels for homeless individuals. The agency has also operated a shelter on 49th Street since 2015.

The issue of area homelessness has gained increasing attention in recent months. Community leaders like Sunset Park Councilman Carlos Menchaca and CB 7 district manager Jeremy Laufner have been clear that they don't want to stigmatize homeless individuals. However, they've also called on the city to provide more information to the community about what local actions agencies are taking concerning homeless people.

Some community members have also raised safety concerns, or brought up what they say is excessive noise outside hotels.

At a Thursday community board meeting, a reporter asked CB 7 chair Daniel Murphy if area residents are worried about homeless individuals around local kids. Murphy dismissed the concern, saying that area residents aren't interested in creating fears where none should exist.

“Each day, we are tasked with determining how to meet the City’s legal obligation to house tens of thousands of homeless New Yorkers, including families with children, who would otherwise be on the street," DHS spokeswoman Lauren Gray said to Patch in a September statement. "We’d like to thank the communities, neighbors and businesses working with us to stand by our neighbors as they navigate some of the most difficult situations of their lives.”

A recent report by Comptroller Scott Stringer found that the city is spending $400,000 per night renting hotel rooms for 6,000 homeless individuals, an increase of 670 percent over the last year.

According to official statistics, there are 60,500 homeless residents in New York, compared to 37,500 in 2011.

Pictured at top: CB 7's office in Sunset Park. Image via Google Maps.