Lawmakers buy building for homeless shelter amid objections
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. » Dutchess County lawmakers approved the purchase of 26 Oakley St. for use as a homeless shelter, despite the objections of Democrats and dozens of city residents.
The Dutchess County Legislature voted 16-8 to approve the use of $3.1 in the American Rescue Plan Act to purchase the 24,640-square-foot building on the city’s northside for a homeless shelter that would house up to 100 people.
Legislators unanimously voted to establish an 11-member stakeholders group to provide “meaningful community input into the development and operation of the shelter,” including the review of requests for proposals for a vendor to work on the facility and input on the selection of a director for the facility.
Residents and some city officials opposed the proposed location of the facility, accusing the county of “dumping” on the city and particularly in the city’s Fifth Ward, an area that, according to Democratic Minority Leader Yvette Valdés Smith “has the highest unemployment rate and the lowest household incomes in the county.”
Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver postponed action on the purchase in May in response to community outcry. In a press release following the vote, Pulver, RPine Plains, said as a result of the Legislature’s action the county is “taking concrete steps to fight homelessness in Dutchess, and I look forward to what the Emergency Housing Facility will accomplish in the future, both for Poughkeepsie and the county generally.”
In addition to Democrats, Republican Alan Surman, who represents the towns of Amenia, Washington, Pleasant Valley, and village of Millbrook, voted against the resolution authorizing the purchase.