Newark Shelter Residents Take Concerns to City Council, Claim Retaliation

NEWARK — Residents at a homeless shelter on Clinton Avenue and people advocating for them turned out at council meetings this week to voice concern about retaliation for speaking out about conditions there.

One resident said he was thrown out of the Hotel Riviera shelter and another said she was arrested on false charges after speaking out against violence, bedbugs and rodents — claims that the shelter operator on Friday denied after the council president demanded an explanation.

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“People who are running the shelter, people who are doing that, we need an answer today why that would happen,” Council President LaMonica McIver said, following the shelter residents’ comments. “It’s not only the person who was in the article who claims they’re being retaliated against or messed with, and we cannot condone that as a city. So, if that is happening through the shelter provider, we need to remedy that immediately.”

Barry E. Betts, who was among a handful of residents to speak out against shelter conditions last month, said he was ejected for expressing his views.

“A lot of negative things (are) going on there, and I was also part of this article about complaints about the ‘hotel’ and staff,” Betts, 55, said. “I was retaliated (against), too, and discharged for no reason.”

By Thursday afternoon, Betts told TAPinto Newark that he had found placement at Newly Destined Inc. — a shelter on Broad Street under the auspices of Essex County.

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Nicole Gibbings, another shelter resident, told the council about what she claims was her arrest on bogus charges . Gibbings, 52, previously told TAPinto Newark that she was handing out individual cigarettes and accepted money in return for some of them. Police said they witnessed her “engaging in hand-to-hand transactions, believed to be narcotics transactions.” A search of public records shows she had no prior criminal record.

“I was falsely arrested, and I believe it is clear retaliation, because once I made a complaint and exposed my concerns or grievances to the reporter then all of a sudden, I’m the worst thing ever,” Gibbings, 52, told the council.

She reported issues with the building. She also reported that there is not enough food for the residents. “We suffer from rodents. We suffer from roaches,” Gibbings said. “We have leaks in my bathroom. I have mold in my bathroom.”

On Friday, Claudia Marks, Catholic Charities Division Director of Shelters and Housing, said she was unsure who reported Gibbings to police. Marks cited a federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which prohibits the disclosure of medical information.

“I’m not sure who called the police,” Marks said. “We are bounded by HIPPA laws, and we cannot call and disclose any information about any client.”

She said Betts was removed from the shelter because of a threat he made against the shelter’s program manager.

“There’s an incident report,” Marks said. “We take threats very, very seriously and with everything that’s been going on, she didn’t feel safe. We spoke to the funder, which is the city of Newark, and we transitioned him to another program.”

Betts told TAPinto Newark the alleged threat was a comment in which he stated, “This is not over.”

Reginald Turner, who said he had been in the shelter for two months, discussed a lack of help moving people out of the sheltering situation.

“People really need help," Turner, 62, said. "There's only one way to go: across the street to use drugs or go to the nearest liquor store. It's like it's designed to keep people down.”

Debra Mapson, who previously managed operations at the shelter, encouraged the council to listen to the residents’ concerns.

“The retaliation going on at the Rivieria is just unconscionable,” said Mapson, who also claims she is owed money from her labor there. “This has to stop.”

“The conditions are just getting worse. The services are still nonexistent,” she said. “The guys are not being fed because they’re running out of food.”

The city pays the shelter $55 per night for each bed at the shelter to the property manager and owner, KS Group, which funds property management, facilities and security services, according to the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services.

A service contract with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese averages $165,000 a month and includes payment for three meals a day, case management and residential support, according to the Office of Homeless Services.

Luis Ulerio, director of the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services who was at the meeting, responded to the residents’ concerns. In total, about 275 residents live at the shelter, he said.

“Retaliation, that’s something that I really am concerned about,” Ulerio said. However, he said, the building conditions “are fair.”

He said his office is going to set up a method for sheltering residents to bring grievances directly to his office, instead of through the third-party contractor running the shelter.

“What we really want to do is, especially for our most vulnerable, is raise the standard of services that we provide,” Ulerio said. “So, there’s a lot more we want to do in that building. We want to definitely plan a long-term plan that’s going to provide transitional and even long-term housing.”

As for the lack of food? “The reports that I’ve received is that they have adequate food three times a day,” Ulerio said.

In a statement to TAPinto Newark following the meeting, he elaborated.

“Although every complaint we hear from Riviera Hotel residents is taken to heart and every effort is made to correct problems as they arise, we are already meeting with the hotel administrators from Catholic Charities and property management to conduct a meticulous examination of all items that came up in (Tuesday’s) Municipal Council Pre-meeting,” Ulerio said. “Together, we will determine what else can be done to help residents feel comfortable, safe and secure.”

Maryam Bey, a vocational career counselor who works with people coming out of prison, also addressed the council this week about the shelter.

“I get complaints from clients regarding other shelters; Hotel Riviera has been overwhelming regarding the treatment of their clients, and it must stop,” Bey said. “We have to support these residents, many of them have mental health issues that must be addressed.”

In a letter to the City Council, she called for greater oversight.

“There needs to be a monitor for these shelters, particularly if they are getting funds from the city of Newark or state,” Bey said. “In these shelters there are many residents who have mental health issues, drug addictions, and are homeless. They are mistreating, threatening, and throwing residents in the street.”

Among residents removed was Dell’Micah Dennis, who said he was thrown out of the shelter on Thursday following a fight. Dennis, 24, said he was attacked following a disagreement over an open window.

Marks, of Catholic Charities, said they didn’t know whom the aggressor was.

“We want to make sure that it doesn’t happen again, so we relocated that client to another shelter,” she said.

“Now that everything is in the news, all the programs’ decisions now are being looked at under a microscope,” Marks added.

Dennis, who attended the Tuesday council meeting, said he is now on the street. He reiterated concerns about men not being fed adequately and expressed concern about treatment by staff.

“Certain staff members belittle and degrade everyone that lives there,” Dennis said. “So, it’s kind of depressing to be in that situation.”

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