78-16 Cooper Ave. (Photo: Council Member Robert Holden)
July 20, 2020 By Allie Griffin
Council Member Robert Holden wants a homeless shelter in Glendale shuttered after one if its residents assaulted and robbed a man down the road from the facility.
The resident, Shandell Johnson, was arrested Sunday after he allegedly whacked a 32-year-old man with a metal rod outside the victim’s home earlier that same day, according to the NYPD.
Police said Johnson, 27, struck the victim eight times around 9 a.m. near Central Avenue and 71st Place — several blocks away from the 78-16 Cooper Ave. shelter.
The victim was sitting outside his home when he was first attacked, police said. During the attack, the victim fell to the ground and his phone left his pocket. Johnson grabbed the phone and fled, but was subsequently arrested, according to the NYPD.
The victim sustained lacerations to his shin, knee and both hands as well as bruising. He was treated at the scene, police said.
A police spokesperson confirmed that Johnson lives at the Cooper Rapid Rehousing Center, a single men’s shelter located on Cooper Ave. The victim is not a resident of the shelter, she said.
Holden, a longtime critic of the shelter, condemned the incident on Twitter Sunday.
Holden, who has been an outspoken opponent of the 200-bed shelter even before it opened in February, said he was “sick and tired” of it.
“This shelter has been a disaster since it opened,” he Tweeted. “It must be closed now and never be allowed to reopen.”
