Queens, New York – Assemblyman David Weprin issued the following statement regarding the status of homeless shelters in Queens:

“In July 2014, I, along with a number of other Queens elected officials, met with the Mayor’s office to discuss the status of homeless shelters in Queens. After leaving that meeting, I was under the impression that any future proposals for homeless shelters would be implemented with community input from the residents of Queens. It is clear that this has not been the case in recent months as I came to know of the homeless shelters in Northeast Queens from my constituents, rather than from the Mayor’s office or DHS. Despite letters sent to the Department of Homeless Services from my office, as well as the offices of Senator Tony Avella and Councilman Barry Grodenchik, regarding the status of these shelters, we have yet to receive a reply.

This is unacceptable, Queens is a community of neighborhoods, built on relationships and centered on trust, and we expect a certain level of communication in our borough. The community oriented neighborhoods of Eastern Queens will not be leveraged into accepting changes in our area without any notice, hearing, or public input and I urge the Department of Homeless Services to seriously investigate the concerns outlined in my letter, as well as the communications from my fellow elected officials. We do not want an issue that was initially a cause for concern to become a reason for alarm.”