Peekskill Homeless Shelter Sets Sights on New Home in City
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Three years after succumbing to public pressure and abandoning plans to relocate its facility to 851 Washington St., Caring for the Hungry and Homeless of Peekskill (CCHOP) is setting its sights on relocating the Jan Peek House homeless shelter to another site in the city.
The non-profit organization that has run the only homeless shelter in northern Westchester since 1988 on North Water St. is looking to be part of a three-building proposed development at 1070 Lower South St. that would enable it to expand its current footprint from 7,500 square feet to 20,000 square feet.
Cynthia Knox, chief executive officer of CCHOP, informed the Peekskill Common Council at a May 23 work session of its hopes to be able to operate the five programs it conducts in a larger and more modern space.
“When people come to Jan Peek House, something bad has happened in their life,” Knox said. “When they come here, they’re looking for a second chance. We want to have space that uplifts people.”
Knox said CCHOP served almost 61,000 individuals in 2021—a 300 percent increase from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Fred’s Pantry, which started in 2010, serves more than 400 people each week, 95 percent of which reside in Peekskill or Cortlandt.
In September 2018, Knox said her organization did an extensive search and settled on 851 Washington St. since it could be renovated to serve its needs and is close to a bus stop. The building on Washington Street was purchased by CHHOP for about $900,000 and was in dire need of expensive repairs.
On January 18, 2019, CHHOP officially filed for a zoning text amendment with Peekskill to relocate the Jan Peek House Shelter. If a special use permit was approved by the Common Council, the zoning law change would have applied to all districts in the city, thus allowing shelters in any C-3 zones. Separate approvals were also needed from the city’s planning and zoning boards.
However, in March 2019, CCHOP stated it had not received the funding needed “to move the Washington St. project forward,” and thus would be turning its attention to another property in an industrial area.
“We listened to the community as to where it would be appropriate for us to relocate,” Knox said last week. “We look forward to the next chapter.”
On May 16, developer Abe Rosenberg and representatives of 1070 Park Estates LLC presented its plans to seek a zoning text amendment for 1070 Lower South St. and other nearby properties in the M-2B Zoning District.
Besides constructing a two-story building to house the Jan Peek House on a vacant parcel opposite the BASF factory, Rosenberg is proposing to construct a three-story self-storage facility and a 10,000-square-foot building for a potential job training center or commercial venture.
“I want to give back something to the city,” Rosenberg said.
Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie suggested Rosenberg look at other alternatives besides a self-storage facility.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
