Assemblyman Felix Rivera issued a press release on Tuesday urging Mayor Dave Bronson to purchase the old Alaska Club building on Tudor Road and use it to serve homeless people.
It is a building that the former acting mayor rejected buying in November because of its poor condition and the need for costly remodels. The building was one of a series of buildings that former mayor Ethan Berkowitz was buying around Anchorage to create a network of shelters and services for homeless people and addicts.
At a meeting of the Assembly Committee on Housing and Homelessness, the mayor’s Chief of Staff Craig Campbell told the Assembly that the mayor was not inclined to buy the building.
“Mayor Bronson has until this Friday, July 9 to determine whether his administration will move forward with a years-long process to acquire the old Alaska Club building on Tudor Road. The building purchase was part of a larger framework to move forward with addressing homelessness and underlying issues in the Municipality of Anchorage, including substance misuse treatment and permanent supportive housing,” Rivera said in a statement.
“Visible homelessness is an issue for Midtown and one as representatives we’ve been asked to deal with repeatedly. The Alaska Club purchase is a reasonable response to those requests and can be done in conjunction with other options to address homelessness in Midtown and throughout Anchorage. Without the Alaska Club as an option, nothing in Midtown will change,” Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel said, calling the Alaska Club location a “reasonable path forward.”
“Without the Alaska Club, Mayor Bronson is forcing the Assembly into a no-win scenario,” Rivera said. “I’ve heard many times that this new administration wants to work with the Assembly to solve the problems of our city. Removing the Alaska Club from the negotiating table is tying one arm behind our backs.”
The previous acting mayor did many things as she left office — she signed a family leave policy, she remodeled the website for the Municipality, but one thing she didn’t choose to do is to purchase the Alaska Club building.
Mayor Dave Bronson is working on a plan to build a $15 million transition center for homeless in Anchorage, which would cost the city $12 million a year to operate. His model is based off of similar centers in Reno, Nevada and San Francisco, California.
Cuz San Fran is such a model city in dealing with homelessness and substance abuse, right. Let’s be like them, right? More of the same from the lame-brained Assembly.
It seems pretty clear that Mayor Bronson has a different plan than the Assembly Felix. Ultimately your battle will be won or lost on the Assembly floor. So quit your whining.
Follow the money Rivera has interest in that building I would wager to bet. Just tell the little pipsqueak NO.
Why is he wearing a diaper over his face??
Oh my God. Could they be any more full of themselves? I really hope the eagleexit happens.
How about not spending a dime on the dregs who defile everything they touch. Let those who choose to live on the streets be fully responsible for their choices and actions…and the results thereof.
Now, bring on the boo hoo birds…I could care less.
From the book Toxic Charity:
· Give once and you elicit appreciation;
· Give twice and you create anticipation;
· Give three times and you create expectation;
· Give four times and it becomes entitlement;
· Give five times and you establish dependency.
And I might add that after the second or third handout you create a reliable democrat. We should each do what we can to help the homeless, but it is the duty of each to do, not to give from the public trough to feel like we are helping.
Very interesting… and true.
It seems like a bad idea, which makes me wonder…. Is someone getting something out of this deal, and is Bronson being set up for the fall when the Club turns out to be a money pit?
Sorry, Rivera, you are no longer working with fellow Marxist and usurper acting-mayor Quinn-Davidson any longer.
Rivera doesn’t get to demand. Bad purchase. Don’t do it Mayor Bronson!!
The left-leaning Assembly majority premeditated this exact scenario when they handed over non-refundable earnest money on an old building in a high-traffic intersection. At least the location at Tudor and Elmore has a pedestrian overpass if the “clients” are willing to use it. ADQ, Little Felix, Chrissy and the rest of their sycophants had years to come up with a solution yet, they didn’t even come up with a portion of a solution. If any side is dealing in bad faith, it’s the ones who’re attempting to force Bronson into the “no-win situation” with the 11th hour purchase of that building.
Mayor Bronson, I urge you not to listen to Assemblyman Rivera’s alarmist catastrophizing. He may want you to purchase the old Alaska Club building to convert into a homeless shelter, but despite his dire predictions, this is not the only way, the best way or even a good way to respond to Anchorage’s homeless crisis.
Anchorage voted for you because collectively, we wanted our city to go in a different direction than that in which the previous administration and the Assembly was taking us. Please do not continue with their disastrous policies.
SUBSTANCE MISUSE
Thus, the battle btwn the liberal majority Assembly and the Mayor begins.
Do the opposite of what the commies want and you’re sure to succeed.
I feel so threatened by Felix. The Mayor better or else! On a side note, I hope the Bronson team is working on undoing everything that the assembly has enacted over the last 4 years.
Who’s pocket is Rivera padding or who is he waiting on to pad his pocket?
Does the left have to come up with a new word for everything? Now you can’t “abuse” substances, only “misuse” them. Good Lord. Does this really make them feel better?
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And, follow the money on Rivera…he or someone close to him is connected to that run down Alaska Club building. He’s pimping it too damn hard for there not to be a payday for someone.
This stuff is so absurd!!! The assembly receives a bunch of Covid $ and has the opportunity to lower our cost of living here buy paying off debt. Instead, they buy four buildings which are removed from the tax roll (no longer collecting real estate taxes from) and then send all of us a statement in the real estate tax invoice that blames the State of Alaska for not funding their debt which they now stick all of the existing real estate owners (the houses that you live in). These guys and gals need to look in a mirror when they point fingers. The problem will be right in front of them ……..
Felix has it all backwards, Bronson doesn’t have to kowtow to the Assembly. They seem to think they are still in charge or something. I hope all of them are up for re election by adding the 12th seat and redistricting occurs. Guess they still think that the awoken voters will not remember the impact they incurred to local business and the population. Fat chance Bronson buys that building. I think they best get ready for the MOA/ ASD double employment to come to an end, as well as the maintenance and operations to be sent to public bid by private sector. Way too many 100k salaries, plus bennies been floated my the taxpayers. Time to cut the fat.
Aren’t some five members of the Assembly up for re-election next year? Not sure if Felix is one, but his liberal buddies certainly are.
Wonder if this is some kind of plan to paint the Mayor as a tyrant, strong arm dictator type. Ignoring the Assembly, which could be portrayed as the Mayor ignoring the wishes of the people. (Or at the minimum, the ADN will tell that story.)
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This, to me, stinks of political grandstanding. Rivera said nothing when that lesbian (sorry to be crude, but she keeps pointing out that she is gay, so I am going celebrate her lifestyle every time I refer to the former acting mayor) acting Mayor chose not to purchase the building for very good and supportable reasons. Now, all of a sudden, a piece of property that he was OK with ignoring a month ago is the most important thing in the City.
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No, this is not about the homeless. It is about undercutting the Mayor’s authority, and ensuring the leftists on the assembly have something to run on. Seriously, if Rivera had a financial interest in that building, acting Mayor ADQ would have bought it for him, probably for more than market price. No, I am pretty sure this is about undercutting the duly elected Mayor.
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Remember the old adage. If you cannot convince voters to vote for you, convince them to vote against your opponent.
“His model is based off of similar centers in Reno, Nevada and San Francisco, California.” San Francisco is literally swimming in sh–.
John Recktenwald, exactly! If you want to solve homelessness in Anchorage, look at what San Francisco, L.A., Portland and Seattle are doing. Then, do the exact opposite!
Can anyone tell me why Anchorage Tax payers are paying for this homelessness?? Why is it that the Native corporations are not looking for solutions to the Native homelessness that accounts for the vast majority of the population. They should be working together with the City and putting up solutions and a great deal of the money.
It seems like they have a lot of money to spend on Administrations and buildings but when it comes to helping their people they sit back and let the Anchorage tax payers pay for all of this. I am very much opposed to give my hard earned money for this problem while they sit back and do nothing.
I have always wonder why the State pays the power equalization instead of the corporations not doing this. They could be working with the sites and paying for wind turbines and other solutions to the high cost of power.
HA..HA..HA.. A deposed assembly expects the “new guy” on the street to cave to them?? They’ll have to learn another lesson.. We did did not vote to duplicate the “same ole liberal rant in our assembly.. WE WANTED CHANGE, They KNEW the Alaska Club can never be used for the homeless, are they in debt,? because they bought it just before the election. The problem of debt is in their own pocket and it doesn’t belong with the NEW Mayor and the residents of Anchorage. They’d have to buy other properties to assist in housing the rest of the homeless. These other buildings were all REQUIRING INTENSIVE renovations costing us further $$$ which probably would have cost the same as this NEW place our New Mayor is needing to continue his greater plans. The new place is a temporarily place only to get the homeless settled elsewhere.
They need to compare the true honest extensive costs of renovations to all the old dilapidated buildings to the cost of the new temporarily planned place.. It won’t be that much different.
During winter months, it would cost between 500 thousand and a million, to house a thousand homeless in motels and hotels. There wouldn’t be any extra hidden costs.
However, that wouldn’t be conductive to funneling the millions of dollars to unions and cronies.
Per month, that is…………
I specifically remember the Assembly and Mayor SWEARING these buildings would NOT be used for housing, but instead for services. And now we see they were lying.
Mayor, we hired you to go toe to toe with these liberal do-gooders. You want to discourage street bums, not encourage them. How about we arrest a couple dozen for public intoxication? Lewdness? Heck, let’s go with littering.. $500 fine, remember? MAKE IT HURT to live that lifestyle and maybe it will change.
Not much sunshine through the portals for that one though.
Mr. Rivera
House some of the homeless in your own backyard and your home, Mr. Rivera. Charity begins at home. Let start with your home.
The proposed day shelter is too close to a major intersection…
Do they remember the hour and half long lines between 4:45-5:30 pm M-F? Which never lets up until after 5:45 pm?
We’ve now normalized homelessness, drug abuse, and mental illness.
When you allow certain behaviors to occur – they will occur.
The mayor and law enforcement need to adopt a zero tolerance policy towards the petty crimes we ALL see being committed everyday – vagrancy, loitering, drug abuse, public intoxication, panhandling, etc.
Accommodating these types has proven to be a total abject failure – by all measureables.
Drop the hammer on these miscreants!
Palmer Minimum sits empty……………
AKPIRG, APOC, APD or AST should investigate Rivera’s connection to this Alaska Club facility. His actions and words have the stench of corruption. Somewhere, somehow, there has to be money tied to this transaction. I can’t help but believe that if you follow the trail, you’ll find something worth prosecuting.
TO GREG LEBEAU above
I am sure that we have enough democrats/communist in this town to house all the homeless if each would take in just one homeless family and avoid the rest of the citizens of this town to pay for their expanding the problem. Berkowitz might take in two families!
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