April 25, 2017 Via Certified Mail

Honorable Mayor Bill de Blasio

City Hall
New York, New York 10007

Honorable Mayor de Blasio:

We, a coalition of Brooklyn Community District 9 residents, business owners, and elected
officials, write in regard to 267 Rogers Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, a building slated to become a
homeless shelter. We request that this proposed shelter be relocated elsewhere, and re-
purposed into a permanent, low income rental exclusively for families from the homeless
community. 267 Rogers Avenue was originally announced as market rate housing. The
concept of the shelter seemingly happened overnight without any input from community
residents or local elected officials.

As the Mayor, you have the authority to place shelters anywhere within the 5 boroughs. You ran
on the platform that our city, under your leadership, would be one in which all communities are
treated fairly and equally, and not a Tale of Two Cities. We believed your platform and had
expected for you to hold true to your word.

The number of shelters in Crown Heights, which your own records will support, is in excess
when compared to other parts of Brooklyn and greatly out performs some entire boroughs.
Consideration must be given to providing fairness and equity in distribution of shelters, and we
hold you to honor your commitment to ending the Tale of Two Cities.

Our community is sensitive to the needs of the homeless population in NYC and are not a part
of the NIMBY group. We are also, however, keenly aware of the decades long commitment
made by us and our families to make this thriving community a great place to buy a home, start
a business, and a wonderful place to raise our families. The responsibility and burden of caring
for our homeless should and must be borne by all New Yorkers.

267 Rogers Avenue borders blocks filled with owner occupied one and two-families homes. As
stated, these homeowners have spent decades establishing these blocks and this community
as desirable places to invest and raise their families. While saddened by the demolition of St.
Ignatius Roman Catholic Church and its immaculately manicured landscaping, we found some
solace in knowing that a stable apartment building was replacing it, and strongly believed that
this sort of development would help enhance the continued appeal of the neighborhood. As a
community, we are prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure that what this community
has built is not swept away in the hidden corridors of bureaucracy.
Suddenly, without proper notification and absolutely no input from any stakeholders, residents,
business owners and elected officials alike, we were confronted by your office taking over of the
building and designating it a shelter. Why would a large homeless shelter be put in the middle
of an area dominated by small homes, nursery and elementary schools, and a college? How
was this decision made without input from local stakeholders? How would you react if this kind
of drastic switch happened next door to you and your family?

Further, this shelter will likely have a negative impact on the success of local businesses which
are and have been critical to the health and well-being of our community. New merchants have
opened or plan to open on Rogers Avenue and the surrounding blocks. Their business plans
and financial analyses are destroyed with the loss of income from the previously planned
apartment complex. Your decision, in other words, hurts these businesses, possibly shuts them
down, and damages the economic outlook for the community.

For the record, we were shocked, amazed, and utterly disappointed when we learned, just
weeks ago, that a homeless shelter is planned for 267 Rogers Avenue. We were shocked
because of the seemingly stealth manner in which the decision was made; amazed that this is
the second shelter planned within a ten block area, an area which already has a
disproportionate large number of homeless facilities versus the rest of Brooklyn and NYC; and
disappointed in the lack of transparency and that the people who have initiated and
implemented virtually everything good about the area have been deprived of the opportunity for
input.

We encourage you to personally take a good look at all of the shelters, which are already
located in the Crown Heights community, and put forth an effort to make them clean and safe
environments. We also implore you to look at alternate areas in Brooklyn and other boroughs,
which are devoid of shelters, prior to creating any new facilities in the Crown Heights
community.

As previously stated, we request that 267 Rogers is halted and re-purposed into permanent low
income housing for our neighbors living in homeless shelters. When a family chooses to move
out of 267, another family from the shelter system would receive a lease and replace them. It
would be permanent and exclusively for families coming directly from shelters.

Mayor de Blasio, public record shows that Samaritan Village will earn $43.3 million dollars over
5 years to manage 267 Rogers. Assuming 132 units, the number translates into roughly
$5.4K/month per unit. Is this use of funds the most efficient way to combat the intertwined
issues homelessness and the lack of low income housing?

We are not experts in homelessness or creating low income housing. However, it seems like
the "last mile" of creating permanent housing for homeless New Yorkers is not addressed
aggressively in NYC's new plan.
With a large percentage of the 60K homeless resulting from an inability to afford the rent, it
seems like NYC has to deal with low income housing in a more innovative way. Our
recommendation for 267 Rogers contributes to the "out of the box" thinking.

We supported you based on your purported core values of balancing the unbalanced. We do not
understand how you can stand behind a project which is so unfair and unjust. Our community is
prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure that we are treated equitably, and that our
voices are heard.

We respectfully request to meet with you to discuss the possibilities and will call your office to
schedule time. You may, however, contact Dion Ashman (917-658-2608, dion@ourgang62.com)
or Michael Liburd (917-474-7458, mkliburd@gmail.com) at your earliest convenience.

We await your favorable reply and thank you in advance for your cooperation and continued
support.

Sincerely,

Coalition of Local Stakeholders in formation, including

Crown Street Block Association
Carroll Street Block Association
Montgomery Street Block Association
Sullivan Ludlam Stoddard Neighborhood Association
Washington Avenue Block Association
Council Member Laurie Cumbo
State Senator Jesse Hamilton
Assemblywoman Diana Richardson
Assemblyman Walter Mosley
Alistars Play Space
Shallows Restaurant
Balboa Restaurant
Carlito's Grocery
J&R Restaurant
Rogers Laundromat
Bambi Day Care

cc: Emma Wolfe (Mayor's Office), Lincoln Restler (Mayor's Office), Public Advocate Letitia
James, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Congress Woman Yvette Clarke,
Community Board 9 Members