'This is the wrong location,' Some in Charlestown upset over homeless housing plan at old hotel
By Mike Sullivan, WBZ-TV
CHARLESTOWN - What was once a hotel is now a source of frustration for Charlestown neighbors. They are upset with the redevelopment plan of the site.
"This is the wrong location for a project that would otherwise seem to have many, many benefits," says Gerry Angoff, President of Managers Board at Constellation Wharf.
The Constitution Inn in the Navy Yard was owned by the YMCA. Now the Y is partnering with St. Francis House and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs to turn it into what they are calling affordable housing. Neighbors say this is misleading. Thirty of the units will be one-bedroom apartments that are income restricted. Ninety-six other units will be for homeless men and women.
"Charlestown does not have the resources for these individuals, most notably health care. These are people with complex health problems," adds Angoff, who also used to work for the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless. "Other sites where homeless populations have had success are close to medical facilities."
"There are really no services for them here. They are kind of trapped here," adds Kate McPherson who lives at Constellation Wharf.
Residents say Charlestown is flush with affordable housing already and lacks the public transportation to support a homeless population. The developers say they will have a shuttle service for residents to get them to the places they need to go to.
The first public meeting between the developers and residents happened on October 4. The result led to further concerns and misconceptions about the project.
"The woman from St. Francis House was talking about what types of people would be living there. Who would be approved to live there?" adds McPherson. "She said people who have been accused of violent felonies, as long as they have done their jail time, could be approved. Another brought up if they were sex offenders? That was kind of a gray area."
"There will be a thorough and robust screening process that we will be going through," answers Bill Grogan President Planning Office Urban Affairs. "It's a multilayered assessment process. Applicants have to go through a CORI (Criminal Offender Record information) check, a SORI (sex offender registry information) check."
The developers originally asked the city's planning and development board to waive a Large Project Review because this is affordable housing. It's called an Article 80. Neighbors feared public comment would be limited.
On Friday, the developers withdrew the request to waive the Large Project Review requirements.
"We did not submit the waiver request to avoid community engagement process," the developers said. "It has become clear, however, that rather than being understood as part of an ongoing community engagement process as intended, our waiver request is viewed by some members of the community as an effort to circumvent community outreach."
The developers said the look forward to addressing concerns with the community.
There is a zoom call with the Boston Planning and Development Agency on the October 24. The public is allowed to attend and ask questions.
