From State Senator Eric Adams:

'Dear Neighbors:

'When I was elected in 2006 as New York State Senator for the 20th District, I was excited about the opportunity to represent a community in which various groups would illustrate for our city and state the many ways in which to celebrate the beauty of diversity. Throughout my first term in office, as I interacted with numerous residents who shared the vision of the magnificence of diversity, I identified a great strategy to transform this theoretical conception into a day of celebration.

'The initial goal is the establishment of a "Celebrate our Diversity Day."

'The objective of the day is to observe and honor the multiplicity of ethnicities, cultures, religions, and lifestyles that make up our great borough. I hope to draw meaning from the issues and themes that are important to each of them. Our celebration will be constructed around two separate events.

'The first will involve pet owners. We will invite all dog owners and non-owners to assemble in the Prospect Park Long Meadow during the h ours of 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM (off-leash hours). It is my aim to construct an occasion during which dog owners and non-owners can use pets as vehicles to recognize how much we actually have in common. If brown dogs, beige dogs, German Shepherds, poodles, retrievers, etc. can play in and enjoy the park together, then we humans should also be able to share our community in mutual esteem and brotherhood/sisterhood.

'The second part of the day will involve a bike ride between the hours of 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM throughout the 20th Senatorial District. During this tour we will travel through the different communities that comprise one of the most diverse Senatorial Districts in the State of New York. We will ride through the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Boro Park, Crown Heights, Flatbush, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Sunset Park, and Windsor Terrace. During the trip we will pause to enjoy the various sights, sounds, foods, and cultural manifestations that comprise this remarkable district.

'The bike ride will have the significant added benefits of promoting the use of alternative transportation, encouraging fitness through exercise, and making our roadways more bike friendly. (It is important to note that these are some of the critical topics that were discussed during my first meeting with individuals who support safer biking.)

'In order to make these events successful endeavors, your assistance is vital. If you are interested in aiding me to organize them, please email me at my personal email address, VoiceofConcern@aol.com.

'The scheduled day for both events is Saturday, September 6th, 2008. I encourage everyone interested in helping to organize "Celebrate our Diversity Day" to attend.

'Together, we can make Brooklyn a harmonious and safe place in which to nurture children and families.

'Best,

'Eric Adams
'NYS Senator, District #20'

This special meeting of Community Board 8 will include a presentation by Mr. George Nashak, Deputy Commissioner of Adult Services with the NYC Deptartment of Homeless Services, on the proposed relocation of the Manhattan intake shelter to the Bedford Avenue Armory (Atlantic Avenue Men's Assessment Shelter), located at 1322 Bedford Avenue.

Public comments and questions will be heard following the presentation.

City Council Members Albert Vann, Lettitia James, and Bill deBlasio will introduce a Resolution at the City Council Meeting on June 25th calling on the Mayor to halt the Department of Homeless Service's plan to close the Manhattan central intake center for homeless men and transfer its functions to the Brooklyn Bedford-Atlantic Armory.

Prior to the meeting, at 12:00PM on June 25th, a press conference will held on the steps of City Hall with advocates, homeless persons, service providers, community residents and elected officials. The City Council meeting follows the rally at 1:30PM, and is open to the public. Although there are no opportunities for the public to speak at the meeting, it is a great chance to show all of the City Council the level of community opposition to this plan.

Join Council Member Letitia James, Coalition for the Homeless, Crown Heights Revitalization Movement (CHRM), neighborhood residents and local community groups, advocates for the homeless and public officials in a march over the Brooklyn Bridge, followed by a rally at City Hall to demand that the City abandon plans to move the men’s homeless intake center to Brooklyn’s Bedford Atlantic Armory, located in an already overburdened community.

Please support the fight of this misguided plan that will not benefit the City’s male homeless population (60% reside in Manhattan), and will harm a struggling community.

For more information please call: (718) 260-9191

Join community leaders and elected officials for a rally opposing the City's plan to relocate the intake center for all homeless men from its current location on First Avenue and 28th Street in Manhattan to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory Shelter in Crown Heights North, Brooklyn.

Despite the City's own data that shows that 60% of all homeless individuals currently live in Manhattan, the Mayor announced last week a plan to move the City's intake center for all single men from its current location on First Avenue and 28th Street in Manhattan to the Bedford-Atlantic Armory Shelter in Crown Heights North, Brooklyn. The losers in this plan will be thousands of the City's most vulnerable citizens who will have to travel long distances to find a bed for the night and a Brooklyn neighborhood already over-saturated with more than its fair share of residential social service beds.

Data recently compiled from the City's own agencies reveals that the central Brooklyn neighborhood where the Bedford-Atlantic Shelter is located (Community Board 8), although small geographically, houses more residential social service beds per acre than any other Brooklyn community. At 112 bed per 100 acres—more than five times the average—the situation has become a crisis demanding immediate attention. The data used for this analysis is the City's own, and includes beds from both State (Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities), Office of Mental Health, Office of ASIS) and City (DHS) agencies, as well as those contracted through non-profit organizations. This data does not include the many ¾ houses in the community as the information was not available at the time of assessment.

Expected to participate are Borough President Marty Markowitz, City Council Member Letitia James, NYS Assemblymen Karim Camara and Hakeem Jeffries, and NYS Senator Eric Adams.

For regular updates and information, visit CHARM's new website at www.revitalizecrownheights.org.