Woodlawn Heights Taxpayers and Community Association, Inc.

Yonkers is mad as hell (7/19/11)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Yonkers is mad as hell

By Mary Lauro

It appears that in his effort to reward the DOE Fund for its support in his campaign for a third term by giving them the Muller Army Reserve Center (ARC) to house 200 homeless men, our imperial Mayor has lost his head. His alleged lies and actions appear to be so condemning that he is doing the cause of sheltering the homeless a grave disservice.

Already concerned that the Mayor was shredding the process (BRAC) outlined by the Federal Government regarding military property it no longer needs, Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz, Jr. contacted the federal agencies to report the deviance. That was back in November/ December 2010. As a result, an agreement was reached with the Mayor that a decision on the fate of the ARC would not be made until June 30 and that before then, there would be a public hearing to gather the opinion of the surrounding communities.

Well, that was the meeting held on June 22 at which 350 people opposed placing homeless at the ARC. They were unanimous in wanting the National Guard to occupy the building which would free the two dilapidated buildings it now occupies adjacent to the Kingsbridge Armory which can be restructured into two solely needed schools.

As we have already reported, the Mayor's response was to notify the BP that a decision to house 200 homeless by the DOE Fund had been reached last November. That is so illogical, indeed nonsensical, it may be a symptom of desperation. The problem is that the illicit decision has been sent to the Feds.

Losing no time the BP has sent letters to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Office of Economic Adjustment of the US Navy outlining the Mayor's perversions of truth. His letter also states that if the matter is not resolved he will have no alternative but to take the issue to court. We strongly support the BP's threat. We cannot permit an elected official to destroy the democratic process.

Meanwhile, (Oh, how we cheer,) there are rumors that our sister city of Yonkers is also threatening court action. Mayor Phil Amicone of Yonkers has written a letter to Bloomberg voicing his and the Yonkers City Council's objection to placing homeless at the ARC. The site is 250 feet from the Yonkers border. It places 200 homeless men within reach of the vibrant McLean Avenue business district and within half a mile of three schools, four houses of worship, and two community centers.

Mayor Amicone finds the draft of the plan seriously flawed because it completely omits the infringement on Yonkers, never even mentioning it by name. His letter is a delight to our eyes.

We are also pleased because our work towards alerting Yonkers is paying off. The (Yonkers) Hyatt's Civic group first heard of the possible conversion of the ARC at meeting of the Woodlawn Taxpayers where we first announced it. Last November we spoke directly at a Hyatt meeting warning of the danger.

Indeed, the Hyatt group is itself considering court action. They have passed the issue by an attorney who is willing to work pro-bono. The interesting thing is that CB 12 would have to be the plaintiff.