A shelter for homeless families in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn will close next week to make way for the Atlantic Yards project. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.
REPORTER: The Pacific Dean shelter lies on the eastern end of the Atlantic Yards footprint. It was long expected to close, although the property won't be developed into apartment towers for several years. In the short term, developer Forest City Ratner will use the land to store the construction vehicles that will build a basketball arena. That's expected to start later this year. As many as 80 families with children stay in the shelter. The Department of Homeless Services says it's already placed most of them in permanent housing and will move the remaining 20 to 25 families into other comparable shelters. Homeless advocates say the closure comes at an inopportune time, given that record numbers of poor families need living spaces. But they also say shelters are only temporary solutions to homelessness. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.