WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communication. February 5, 2007 (EDITED, Pic added)UPDATED 2:15 PM EST UPDATED February 7, 2007 3:05 PM:  The County Executive Andy Spano announced Tuesday that this shelter location has been withdrawn  See more recent story for details. Previously, County Executive Andy Spano announced Monday that the drop-in center located at 85 Court Street in White Plains which gives homeless people a place to sleep at night will be relocated as quickly as possible to a new facility to be built at the County’s Department of Public Safety. The decision came after a series of productive meetings Spano has had with Common Council President Rita Malmud, Councilmen Thomas Roach and Benjamin Boykin and Board of Legislators Chair Bill Ryan, who represents White Plains.

Donna Greene, Assistant communications Director advised WPCNR that the overflow of homeless persons that have swelled the population housed nightly at 85 Court Street, (the County Executive said 80 persons have been showing up lately attempting to use the shelter) have been housed elsewhere.

Asked when the new facility is expected to be opened, Ms. Greene issued this statement:  "There is no specific into on time frame of new building. We are the early stages."

Volunteers of America Vans turning into 85 Court Street Driveway whisking White Plains "hardcore homeless" two blocks to 85 Court Street on shelter Opening Night January 16, 2006. The present procedure will continue indefinitely until the new $2 Million facility is built. No target date for completion was given by the County in today's sketchy announcement.Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

“As everyone knows by now, this drop-in center was always considered temporary. We have tried to find other locations since the beginning of last year. I am pleased that we have come up with another county site that is more appropriate to handle our homeless population. The current drop-in serves a maximum of 43 men, and right now we are picking up about 80,” said Spano.

Spano thanked the White Plains committee headed by Malmud as well as Board of Legislators Chair Bill Ryan for working productively with him. “They came to us and let us know their concerns.  We heard what they had to say and we listened.”

            Board of Legislators Chairman Bill Ryan said, “We have decided on a plan of action that satisfies both city and county interests.  The homeless on the streets of White Plains need to be sheltered at night.  The county wants to help with that. The drop-in center in the basement of 85 Court Street is too small and was only meant to be used temporarily.  We will now build a permanent drop-in center, on a secure site in a less populated area that can handle the larger number of homeless requiring overnight shelter.”

Common Council President Malmud said, “I want to thank County Executive Spano for meeting and really listening to our concerns. While Councilman Dennis Power did not attend, he contributed greatly in helping think things through to a successful conclusion. 

           Malmud added, “White Plains has always been willing to help those in need. Despite the closing of the shelter at 85 Court Street, we will continue to have other housing for the homeless in White Plains.  At a time when some shelters in Westchester have closed, we are glad that this temporary but additional White Plains shelter is being relocated to a much better site in the county and that those in need will be carefully provided for."

Councilman Benjamin Boykin stated, “I am pleased that working in a collaborative partnership with County Executive Andy Spano, Chairman of the County Board of Legislators William Ryan and my fellow White Plains Democratic Councilmen Rita Malmud, Thomas Roach and Dennis Power, the county is going to relocate the homeless shelter located at 85 Court Street to a building outside of White Plains that will benefit the entire county by providing this fragile population with a facility in an appropriate location. The meetings with our elected county government officials over the last several months have resolved a difficult issue for the residents of White Plains.”

Councilman Thomas Roach said, “We appreciated the opportunity to meet with the County Executive to express our concern that White Plains was carrying more than its share of a countywide responsibility. By having these discussions, we were able to take politics out of the equation and achieve a positive result.’’

 Spano said besides understanding the concerns of White Plains the move was needed because the county was finding it difficult to handle the overflow. Spano reiterated what has been previously said and shown to be true: that the drop-in has posed no safety concerns for White Plains residents.  Nothing but the location has changed. Those homeless who continue to gather at the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. will be transported by vans to the new site at county police headquarters in Hawthorne. They will stay there overnight and then be brought back to White Plains in the morning as has been done for 20 years. Once in White Plains, the men will be taken to Project Trust, a program begun last year which helps the homeless during the day and encourages them to enter the regular shelter system for assistance and services.

The process will begin immediately and construction will begin as soon as possible to create the new facility. The site is the old police impound lot which is vacant space.  It is a secure site, on police grounds, and secluded from neighborhoods and commercial establishments. The Department of Public Safety is located off the Saw Mill River Parkway and there are no homes in the vicinity. The homeless will follow the same procedure used in White Plains.

If someone wants to leave at night, they will be transported back to White Plains where they were picked up, and the White Plains police will be informed. Once a person leaves, he will not be allowed back in the drop-in. No one will be allowed to wander around the Hawthorne location, and only the homeless currently picked up in White Plains will be transported.

The cost of the building the facility is estimated to be about $2 million and funding has been included in the Department of Social Services operating budget since 2006 in the hope of finding another space.

Anticipating a possible negative response from the Town of Mount Pleasant, Spano said, “This is about  the safest and most secure spot in the county. It is right next to police headquarters. The people in Mount Pleasant should not be concerned. It will not affect them or their quality of life. What it will be doing is giving  the homeless a better place to spend the night to keep safe and warm.’’

He added, “We are under no obligation to create a drop-in shelter, but it’s the safest and most humane thing to do for everyone.”