Whether it was the nightly protests or the highly-attended public meetings, something is working for the opponents of the city’s proposed homeless shelter in Maspeth.
In a statement this afternoon from Assemblywoman Marge Markey, city officials are not moving forward with the original October 1st opening date for the shelter. Markey said they have agreed to “continue to evaluate the plan and the program for location” after phone calls with both Mayor de Blasio and DHS Commissioner Steven Banks.
“This postponement gives us the opportunity to continue to bring pressure on the City to change its plan for Maspeth,” Markey said. “With Community Board Five review still underway, we still have not seen answers to our continuing concerns about the location of the facility, the track record of the proposed provider and details about the financial arrangements between the City, Acacia Network and the hotel owner.”
In this week’s Queens Ledger newspaper, they asked the comptroller to do his job and reported on the community protest at the public hearing.
Markey playing politics.