Communities Deserve Information, Not Rumors

The Westway Motor Inn at 71-11 Astoria Blvd. has been a source of controversy almost since it was built to accommodate visitors to the 1964-65 World's Fair. In the 40-odd years of its existence it has been a short-stay motel, a temporary refuge for the victims of a sting that lured people from Central and South American countries to Queens to toil as slave labor and a longer-term shelter for homeless families, to name only a few of the varied uses that have been found for it. According to online research, the Westway is once again doing duty as a motel; a stay in one of its 121 rooms with amenities including central air conditioning and in-room movies on demand will run a traveler some $130 a night.

Rumors that the Westway will once again be converted to a homeless shelter are circulating through the surrounding Astoria Heights, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst communities. The United Community Civic Association, which has regarded the Westway as a thorn in its side for years is holding an emergency meeting this Thursday to which Carmine Rivetti, city Department of Homeless Services assistant commissioner for government and community relations, has been invited as guest speaker.

We hope that Rivetti will show up. So too, we hope, will residents from neighborhoods throughout Queens. (We know from experience that 114th Police Precinct Commanding Officer Inspector Brian McCarthy will be present unless official business calls him away, and if he cannot attend, a representative will.) The Westway is indicative of a problem that besets the entire borough. We in Queens are willing to do our part to accept those less fortunate who for a number of reasons may not for the moment have homes of their own. This is part of our obligations as citizens of this metropolis and as members of the family of mankind. But Queens has some of the largest shelters for the homeless in New York City and at almost every community board meeting we attend, a request to establish another such facility seems to crop up on the agenda. More people bring about greater use of water, electricity and storm and sanitary sewers, some already weakened by the strain of overuse. Families with school age children add to the student body population of neighborhood schools, some of which are even now crowded beyond their capacity. There are limits to how many homeless people this borough can accommodate and it is time the city agencies responsible for the homeless population recognized that fact.

Of even greater moment than the question of a burgeoning homeless population is the apparent reluctance of the city agencies responsible for deciding to convert the Westway to a homeless shelter to inform the affected communities that surround the motel of their intentions. This, too, is a matter of concern for the entire borough. Too many times community facilities such as shelters have been foisted on area residents without regard to those residents' wishes or the needs of the people for whom the facilities have been developed. While the City Charter my not require a community board vote to be taken or a general election to be held in order for a facility to be built, the people in the community to be affected ought at least to be consulted and their opinions taken into consideration. Government of the people, by the people and for the people is meant to work from the bottom up, not from the top down.

Government of, by and for the people is also meant to be conducted through accurate, timely and direct information, not rumor and surmise. The reluctance of city agencies to make any kind of public announcement as to the possible future use of the Westway Motor Inn- or any other entity in which an official interest has been expressed- can lead only to distrust, suspicion and fear. The people have a right to know about plans for their community that will affect that community for the present moment and for many years to come.