A judge has cleared the way for the city to open a homeless shelter in Crown Heights,a decision that has implications for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s homelessness strategy.
Crown Heights residents sued the city, arguing their neighborhood already has too many shelters. On Monday, and after two months of hearings and negotiations,Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Katherine Levine dismissed the lawsuit.
The judge's decision is an important step in the city's plan to open 90 new shelters over the next five years. But the city faces another lawsuit against a different shelter in the same neighborhood and is likely to face similar opposition in other parts of the city.
The Crown Heights residents did collect assurances that increased security and other personnel will prevent the problems they say other shelters acquire caused, and that a community advisory board will be formed. They can return to court whether those commitments aren't honored.
Source: thetakeaway.org