When I watched the 24 April video of the public hearing on leasing county-owned property at Pittaluga Road in the Town of Thompson, the public was divided on the proposal to site a facility there intended to provide support services to homeless residents of our county.  Judging from concerns raised, it appeared opposition came primarily from members of the Windsor Hills Estates Shul community located not far from the proposed project site. 

And although it would be wrong to imply their concerns focused solely on a single aspect of the proposal, it would also be wrong to accept a prevailing thread of their concerns as NIMBY. 

Rather, it stemmed from the conviction that county residents caught up in the cycle of homelessness disproportionately comprise criminals from whom their children at Windsor Hills should be protected.

It made no difference that the facility would be supervised all hours of every day and night and would provide no haven for anyone found engaging in criminal activity—a real head-scratcher, given Windsor Hills’ proximity to the existing county jail.  Neither did the support services the facility would provide in assisting homeless county residents toward more productive lives (and a lower financial burden on county taxpayers). 

It seems safe to say that members of Windsor Hills have themselves been the target of their own share of bigotry in the form of antisemitism, so witnessing what appeared to be similar stereotyping from within their ranks reinforced for me its role as an equal opportunity employer.

But just how far should “protect the children” go?  Oppose affordable housing projects rooted in unfounded beliefs about criminal elements lurking among community members by virtue of their lower income status? What about denying employment to qualified teachers based on their sexual orientation and similarly unfounded notions of pedophilia?  I’m no Judaism scholar, but my understanding is that such stereotyping runs deeply at odds with venerable Jewish tradition.

Dave Colavito
Rock Hill, NY