photo: Hotel on Glenmore Ave with Maxwell H.S. in the background
by Alice Williamson / 15 year resident of East New York
Can you please post this letter on EastNewYork.com?
I am appalled by what I am seeing in East New York, where I have been living for the past 15 years. The prostitution on the blocks around Glenmore and Sheffield Avenues, just one block from Maxwell High School has been growing, but I have not heard one peep from the elected officials or members of Community Board 5 about the situation. So many people are talking about development and rezoning in East New York, but if the development is going to be 50 new hot sheet and shelter hotels then how will the community progress. The neighborhood is going down fast and no one is saying a word. I went to Inez Barron’s office on Pennsylvania Ave. and the office is empty with no desks and no people. Where are you?
This week I noticed that there is a hotel that has been built and preparing to open at 367 Glenmore Ave, across the street from Maxwell High School and on the same block as the prostitution. I am hoping that this letter is read by the right community leaders who can fix this problem and fight against the opening of that hotel. The question that I have is who approved the building of this hotel across the street from a high school and on the same block where prostitution is rampant.
If this is what development looks like in East New York then I think I speak for my neighbors when I say I don’t want this kind of development.
Please help!
These ‘hotels’ have been popping up all across East New York with no justification and I agree, elected officials have been strangely quiet on these developments. As elected officials, how do you allow developers to saturate the neighborhood with seedy hotels, ignoring the need for more affordable housing. No accountability
Yeah I love these hotels to so easy and convenient to find whatever you’re looking for at any time
All you have to do is drive down Georgia from Sutter Ave to Liberty Ave to see the prostitutes, that’s how I drive my son to work so now I take Atlantic Ave. The Hotel on Fulton and Penn is full of prostitution also. Thanks for all the great development, are the politicians on the take?
The prostitution has been going on for quite sometime along Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York. Especially at one of those seedy hotels at Essex street & Pennsylvania ave, as well as Cozine and Alabama ave. But think about it it’s an industrial area, factories and the like. Politicians, like what they did to Harlem, when Clinton dropped 100 million empowerment monies and their elected officials, Perkins and Rangels, sold the Harlemnites soul. This no different. I guess the Barron’s think if they don’t have nothing nice to say don’t say nothing at all. Gentrification/ change is inevitable regardless of who’s in office. There’s no concrete, sincere leadership in this world. Fact.
HOTEL Opening ONE BLOCK FROM MAXWELL HIGH SCHOOL.
I’M A CONCERNED Maxwell Graduate?
Share this OpEd with EAST NEW YORK residents, community leaders and local elected officials.
Alice you are so right. Seems like ENY will not grow in the right direction unless vigilant residents like yourself keep bringing these issues to the attention of the residents and politicians in the neighborhood. Good work, keep it up!
what is the point of leaving a reply if its not published? what is it, ENY only gets to have ONE reply? some things about the east never change. limited voices. no wonder shit dont change around hear.
That specific area is a part of Espinal’s district. There is also the potential of that hotel is being built on private land, therefore, it would be that much harder to fight against what is being built on that property. As a resident of East New York for 15 years, you are also able to organize a group and/or partner with grassroot groups to stop the opening of the hotel. It is one thing to address and/or complain about an issue but if you are not active, your feelings will fall short. Do your research, organize, go to Espinal’s office, petition, attend your local community board meetings; action is needed!
A person shouldn’t have to complain. The politicians and who ever is in charge of the community board and the community board members should freakin know what’s going on. If the politicians can’t figure out how to handle it the they should get out of office. Thank goodness there’s term limits for city council. Get someone in those positions who can figure out how to stop it. If you can’t stop your neighborhood from being over run with sleezy hotels then what good are you. It’s as simple as that. If we can only get things done by residents going out and marching then what the hell do we need politicians for?
Good luck with this. Ive been fighting the hotel on flatland ave and pennsylvania ave next the green gas station and on Stanley and pennsylvania ave. Prostitution all over both hotels. The business is fully active and i never see cars in and out. Only naked women walking up and down those blocks. This hotel makes no difference. 🙁
juan garcia pink brooklyn moved florida
thanks for posting my other reply. lol prolly down with the barrons
You “people” are really negligent to facts and your own realities. East NY is a haven for complacency and dilapadation. An area rife with crime, garbage and a real lack of community responsibility. You see it everyday on the trains and buses. Take the B83 to gateway mall, and just witness the aggressive, littering, loud, thankless individuals that take that bus. Take the 3 train and watch as people throw garbage on the platform, on the train, as if it’s their right. These are the same inhabitants that run reckless and carefree, destroying private homes, mid sized buildings, and local businesses alike. The responsibility starts with the community. Not. With developers. East NY is a dump, not too far behind Bronx. Private property and development are not your right to dictate what built. Someone paid their hard earned money to buy the land and build on it. You don’t have the right to decide what’s built there. Some have mentioned affordable housing, well understand it’s not so affordable when someone else is footing the bill. It’s not a developers obligation to provide affordable housing to people that will destroy it, almost as soon as it’s been built.
Why not find help for these women instead of complaining about what they do.? They are human and need help to get off of the streets and not participate in such acts.
There are more non-active residents in ENY then active residents. With over 80,000 eligible democratic voters, less then 15% actually vote. We have a leadership problem in ENY because we have a community engagement problem in ENY. That’s how weak politicians like
Charles & Inez Barron keep getting opportunities to remain relevant and remain in power. There’s no excuse in 2021! Inez Barron will be termed out and residents will have a chance to elect someone with “can do” approach to governing. Even with a slight increase in voter turnout, Charles Barron is easy to beat in 2020. You want change? ENGAGE!!!
Yes you are right if the Politicians, City Council Members, can’t keep our neighborhoods free of prostitution in the East NY Section then they need to be voted out.
BIGGER PROBLEMS UNDER OUR NOSE
As Brooklyn builds up from dumbo toward the East, We have gain a flood of shelters, halfway houses, storage buildlings and hotels.
The ENY pilot program is design to replace the homeless and mental illness from their neighborhoods as they continue to develop.
We are experiencing NO parking spaces and our AIR space is quickly disappearing.
I’m not against this, However someone is in a hurry to beautify the move in….bike lanes going down on streets that had potholes and need of repairs.
Our children can not afford to live here, they’re buying our homes for cheap and triple the sale for the same property, blocking and making it impossible to returns to the neighborhood.
Our two family homes blocks are getting four to six families apartment build between them on one single lots, this looks out of place and crazy.
The slumlords children and grandchildren are back! Beware folks once you’re sale out you won’t be able to return.
I thought I was the only one that cared. I have contacted the community board about the acts that happens in front my residence, on the block of my residence nobody cares. They do nothing! I’m sick of it.
Sounds like a bunch of white gentrifiers complaining about the neighborhood they moved in to see “hip”. Move then.