Letter to Council Member Velázquez in Support of Just Home

September 29, 2022

Council Member Marjorie Velázquez

3040 E Tremont Avenue, Suite 107

Bronx, NY 10461

Dear Council Member Velázquez:

As Bronx community members, we write to express our full support for the Just Home project planned for 1900 Seminole Avenue. Just Home will create much-needed supportive and affordable housing in our neighborhood, and the future residents of this site deserve our welcome and support. We urge you to reconsider your stance on this project. 

As you know, Just Home will provide approximately 70 studio apartments on the Jacobi Hospital campus, with the majority of the units designated for homeless, formerly incarcerated individuals who are living with complex medical needs. The project will also include affordable units for low-income community members, with preference given to residents of Bronx Community Board 11. All tenants will receive rent-stabilized leases. The Fortune Society will provide on-site supportive services, including licensed clinical social workers and peer specialists, and will handle property management, maintenance, and security.

Just Home uses an approach that has been extremely successful in New York and beyond. The Fortune Society operates several sites throughout the city that provide housing and supportive services for justice-involved individuals facing homelessness. These sites have become an integral part of the fabric of their neighborhoods, providing benefits to the surrounding community as well as to the residents themselves.

In a moment when more than 60,000 New Yorkers are experiencing homelessness, we cannot afford to say no to the opportunity to provide permanent affordable housing in our community. We all know the importance of home: it’s a place to take care of yourself, to spend time with loved ones, to feel a sense of comfort and safety. For the future tenants of 1900 Seminole Avenue, many of whom are living with complex health conditions, the stakes are even higher. Stable housing saves lives, and Just Home will provide exactly that to individuals who would otherwise face immense challenges accessing housing. Approximately 2 out of every 5 people returning to New York City from state prisons last year ended up in city shelters or similar placements, and a recent report by the Corporation for Supportive Housing estimated that 2,589 individuals held at Rikers Island in a given year need supportive housing. People who are formerly incarcerated often face discrimination from landlords and brokers on the basis of their conviction record, which makes it especially difficult for them to secure permanent housing.

Many of our neighbors who oppose this project have suggested that the future residents of Just Home represent a threat to public safety. This logic is backwards; in fact, providing housing for justice-involved individuals promotes public safety. Data from across the country clearly demonstrates that when formerly incarcerated people are provided with housing and supportive services, they are less likely to reoffend. And while some community members have been using disturbing rhetoric to whip up fear around this project, calling future residents “animals” and “criminals” (despite the fact that as of September 7, 87% of individuals being held on Rikers were being detained pre-trial, without having been convicted of a crime), many of us know and love people who have spent time in jail or prison, and we know that past incarceration does not predict what kind of neighbor a person will be. We can and should welcome new neighbors, no matter what their housing status or conviction history is. Every individual in our neighborhood deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. 

We appreciate that as the City Council representative for this district, you want to represent the views of the community. We, too, are members of this community–and we want to welcome this project. We urge you to offer your full support for Just Home, and we look forward to discussing this further with you.

Sincerely,

Individuals:

Betty Kolod, MD, MPH

Kareemah Benbow

Tony Guarino

Robert Schwab

Ellie Krupnick

Lydia Shestopalova 

Ryan Acquaotta

Vivian Kim

Raphy Jacobson

Ziv Stern

Rue Parkin

Lissette Palma

Bonnie Mohan

Sasha Kesler

Daniel Johansson

Jailene Baez

Kim Moore

Aden Munassar

Sana Munassar

Wohda Munassar

Polina Bakhteiarov

Michelle Madera

Michael Kaess

Matthew Mueller

Steven Morales

Drew Johnston

Devon Debouis

Helena Reed

Andrea Reed

Kelley Ryan

Wendy Marin

Melena Jones

Kathy Jones

Dewayne Grant

Maria Walles

Anna Williams

Marilyn Reyes

Sarah Wilson

Rehnquist Joseph

Jacqueline Reveira

Rosalind Casillas

Sheri Kamiel

Antony Espino

Jose Ramirez

Fernando Medina

Charisma White

Karly Rodriguez

Muhamed Gutic

Monika Wunderer

Brandy Martinez

Ramona Bell

Nelson Vazquez

Sandy Gantt

Dellon Dillon

Johnny Guaylupo

Franklin de la Cruz

Carmen Morales

Emily Parson

Ama Fuwaa

Marc Shi

Diana Finch

Denise Santana

Ryan Patrick Daly

Czarina Ramos

Cleven Jones

Jerrod Bratcher

Natasha Tretter

Riley Kerr

Maren Geier

Erin Merriman

Isabella Scipioni

Organizations:

Open Hearts Initiative

helpNYC

The Health and Housing Consortium, Inc.

Open New York

Peer Network of New York

Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing