Paul Groncki, president of the 100 West 16th Street Block Association, captured this Thurs., Jan. 9 image of construction at 114 W. 14th St. (btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.). That location will be a new haven for the homeless, as noted by our reporter Donathan Salkaln, in his Jan. 3 article, Homelessness and Affordability: The Big Squeeze.

The city, wrote Salkaln, “has instituted a Safe Haven model that the Bowery Residents’ Committee (BRC) has effectively used in getting the homeless off the streets. It calls for smaller shelters located in nearby communities that bring the homeless to a facility with fewer rules than city-wide shelters, yet have in-house professionals that address their needs.”

Said Erik Bottcher, Chief of Staff to New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, “The Safe Haven is an opportunity to go to those folks and say, ‘A few blocks away, there’s a place where you can get food, a shower, rest, and even a bed in a room with a door that locks.’ That’s the golden opportunity to get them mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment.”

The Safe Haven at 114 W. 14th St. is scheduled to open in the fall of 2020, and will be run by the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), an organization that provides support, including case management and on-site medical and psychiatric services to individuals and families in more than 2,200 supportive housing units in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. For more info on the CUCS, visit cucs.org.

—By Scott Stiffler

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