We, the local stakeholders, businesses, residents, workers and shoppers of Flushing, Queens, vehemently object to Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) and the Department of Homeless Service’s (DHS) plan to construct a 90 unit shelter / transitional housing at 39 – 03 College Point Boulevard. We demand AAFE and HPD to:

·         Cease work completely and immediately.

·         Convene a public hearing to reveal your plans for the site transparently and to answer the public’s questions and concerns.

·          Agree to never use the site as a shelter or transitional housing, legally binding.

·          Establish a community advisory board consisting of local stakeholders to monitor the development and management of the site. Board members shall be appointed by the local council member.

We are deeply offended by AAFE and DHS’s plan to construct a 90 unit shelter / transitional housing at 39 – 03 College Point Boulevard. We are doubly offended by how you are doing it, without community notification and public input. Process matters. Transparency matters. We matter!

Flushing has been suffering economically due to the COVID – 19 pandemic. Many storefronts are still vacant; others are struggling to stay open. We are also suffering physically due to the rise in discrimination and attacks on immigrants. Just when we thought our community is starting to recover, the city, DHS and AAFE decides to build a shelter / transitional housing in the heart of Flushing! Such a development will adversely affect Flushing, which is home to 180,000 residents, consisting of majority minorities, with the highest foot traffic outside of Time Square, with the busiest train station outside of Manhattan; it is also the 4th largest business district in all of New York City. We don’t need this kind of development!

Frankly, we don’t trust you. We have seen what have happened to the shelter on 20th Avenue in College Point. The city proposed to house 140 male individuals, the community found out and protested, the city changed their minds and agree to house 110 women and children only to move them out last year. We have seen what happened to the Wyndham Gardens Fresh Meadows Hotel. The city stated it will house early released inmates from Rikers Island at the hotel due to COVID and will seize operations at the hotel within 3 months. Almost 18 months have gone by and the hotel is still used by the city as a halfway house. Happening before our eye, we are seeing it now in Chinatown, Manhattan at 91 East Broadway and in Sunset Park on 8th Avenue and 65th Street. All without public notice and input. You see the pattern? We call people like you habitual liars. Never to be trusted!

Therefore, we the undersigned stakeholders, businesses, residents, workers and shoppers of Flushing, Queens, hereby demand AAFE and DHS to take action to immediately meet our demands. Until our demands are met, we will organize, take action in all means, including legal action, to stop this development to protect our community, our home.

我们，皇后区法拉盛的当地利益相关者、企业、居民、工人和购物者，强烈反对亚裔平等会（AAFE）和 Department of Homeless Services (DHS) 在大学点大道39-03号建造90个单位的庇护所/过渡性住房的计划。我们要求AAFE和HPD：

- 立即完全停止施工。

- 召开公开听证会，透明地披露你们对该地的计划，并回答公众的问题和关切。

- 同意永远不将该地块用作庇护所或过渡性住房，形成具有法律约束力的文件。

- 建立一个由当地利益相关者组成的社区咨询委员会，监督该场所的发展和管理。董事会成员应由当地市议员办公室任命。

我们对AAFE和DHS在College Point大道39-03号建造90个单元的庇护所/过渡性住房的计划深感不快。我们对你们的做法倍感失望，你们没有通知社区和争取公众意见。任何相关项目过程很重要，透明度很重要，我们这些人更重要!

由于COVID-19的大流行，法拉盛在经济上一直受到严重影响。许多店面仍然空置，其他店面则在努力维持营业。由于对移民的歧视和攻击增加，我们也在遭受身体上心灵上的痛苦。正当我们认为我们的社区开始恢复的时候，市政府、DHS和AAFE决定在法拉盛的中心地带建造一个庇护所/过渡性住房！这样的发展将对我们的社区产生不利影响。这样的发展将对法拉盛产生不利影响，法拉盛有18万居民，大多数是少数民族，是时代广场以外人流量最大的地方，是曼哈顿以外最繁忙的火车站，也是整个纽约市第四大商业区。我们不需要DHS和 AAFE这样的发展项目!

坦率地说，我们不相信你们。我们已经看到了大学点20大道上收容所的情况。市政府提议安置140名男性，社区发现并提出抗议，市政府改变主意，同意安置110名妇女和儿童，但去年又将他们迁出。我们已经看到了温德姆花园新鲜草地酒店的情况。市政府表示，由于COVID的原因，它将在该酒店安置从Rikers岛提前释放的囚犯，并将在3个月内查封该酒店的运营。近18个月过去了，该酒店仍被市政府用作中途宿舍。我们看到在我们眼前正在发生的事情，我们看到在曼哈顿唐人街的东百老汇91号和日落公园的第八大道第65街。所有这些都没有通知公众和提供意见。你们看懂这个模式了吗？我们称这样的施政者为“习惯性骗子”。是永远不要被信任的人!

因此，我们下面签名的利益相关者、企业、居民、工人和皇后区法拉盛的购物者，特此要求AAFE和DHS采取行动，立即满足我们的要求。在我们的要求得到满足之前，我们将组织起来，采取一切手段，包括法律行动，以阻止这一发展，保护我们的社区，我们的家园。