City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is absolutely right that super-sized shelters, like the one the city has just created in Chelsea, are dangerous for homeless people and surrounding communities (“Chelsea Shelter Opens Under Ire,” Aug. 23).
They are a step backward to the bad days of the 1980s when the city disastrously crowded hundreds of homeless adults into armories and warehouse-style facilities.
That’s the reason the City Council passed a law more than a decade ago banning new homeless shelters with more than 200 beds.
Unfortunately, the Bloomberg administration is still moving forward with plans that violate this common-sense law and endanger vulnerable homeless New Yorkers and neighborhoods.
Quinn and the City Council should be applauded for fighting to stop super-size shelters.
Patrick Markee, Senior Policy Analyst, Coalition for the Homeless, Manhattan