Big Turnout for Rally Against Homeless Intake Center

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Montrose Morris was on the scene for last night's rally against the homeless intake center in Crown Heights and filed this report.

The gym at St.Peter Claver School was full of people for last night's rally against the homeless intake center plan for the Bedford Atlantic Armory. The rally was organized by CHRM (Crown Heights Revitalization Movement) and local elected officials, and was run by community activist Mark Griffiths, CHRM member, and candidate for city council representing Crown Heights and Bed Stuy. Several speakers outlined the history of the shelter, Bloomberg’s plan for bringing the intake center to Central Brooklyn, and the steps taken by a concerned Crown Heights community to stop it.

The opposition to the city’s plans is a coalition of black, white, Asian, Latin, young, and old, community members, as well as clergy, politicians, and advocates and workers with the homeless. It was announced that local elected officials, including City Council Members Letitia James and Bill deBlasio, Assemblyman Karim Camara, State Senator Eric Adams and others have retained the high power, well connected law firm of Gibson Dunn, with the lead lawyer on the case being Jim Walden, a Brooklyn resident, backed up by former deputy mayor, and firm partner Randy Mastrow. Randy seems to have come back to the Light from the Dark Side days as a Giuliani powerbroker, and the firm is taking the case pro bono. It is hoped that the seriousness of the community in fighting this will convince the city to rethink a seriously flawed plan.

In addition to hearing attorney Jim Walden speak about legal strategies, we also were fired up by an impassioned speech by Letitia James...

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