Homeless Polish Of Greenpoint

News that a homeless man was arrested for allegedly starting the Greenpoint Terminal Market fire has turned attention to the plight of Greenpoint’s homeless Polish population:

For decades, Greenpoint has been home to a substantial number of Polish men who live on the streets. The man charged with arson, Leszek Kuczera, a heavy drinker who the police say started the fire while trying to burn the insulation off copper wires that he planned to sell to a scrap yard, was in many ways a typical member of the group, according to his family and friends.

Most of the men are in their 40’s or older, and many are alcoholic. Their drinking choices tend toward beer, $2 pints of fortified wine and vodka, the cheaper the better. Some speak only Polish, and many others have only a limited command of English. Because they are just a small part of Greenpoint’s thriving Polish-American population and they tend to avoid outsiders, they are often overlooked.

Yesterday afternoon, groups of the men dotted a stretch of Manhattan Avenue, blocks from the fire. About 20 of the men could be seen gathering on street corners, beneath shop awnings, and passing the time as the rain fell.

“I’m homeless,” said John Novak, who stood among three other men, one in a wheelchair, at the corner of Manhattan Avenue and Nassau Avenue. “I sleep in the park.” Mr. Novak said he once held a construction job in New Jersey but had to give it up after hurting his leg. He has been on the streets of Greenpoint for 11 years.

It is a hard life, some of the men said, but they make the most of it, living free and sleeping where they please. Some of them sleep in the subway tunnels, like Mr. Kuczera, who was also known to spend the night in an alleyway off Milton Avenue, near the site of the fire. Others, like Mr. Novak, sleep in graveyards or on the benches in McCarren Park.

Money comes from collecting cans or selling scrap metal or just standing on the corner and holding out a hand. There is almost always somebody sympathetic enough to donate a dollar. When one of the men has money, food or drink, they all do.