Comptroller Scott Stringer has rejected a contract for the homeless shelter in the former Pan Am Hotel, citing concerns about the safety of those living there, his office announced Monday.
Stringer said he won't approve the permanent contract between the city and the shelter's operator, Samaritan Village, until his office "receives assurances that anyone staying in these facilities will be safe, all outstanding violations and complaints have been corrected and all documentation that the requirements of the contracting process were met."
The 216 rooms lack kitchens, which are required by law.
Stringer's office sent the permanent contract back to the administration along with a contract for a shelter on West 45th Street in Manhattan run by Aguila Inc., his office said.
When asked about the conditions at the shelter inside the Pan Am, specifically the lack of kitchens that are required by law, DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor said they didn't have any immediate plans to add them.
"We don’t have a plan yet to install cooking facilities in that location. We’re not certain that that would be actually the best thing for us to do," he said.
From DNA Info:
Life in the nearly year-old Pan Am homeless shelter is worse than serving time in jail, some residents told DNAinfo New York.
The facility, which opened in June 2015 to help house the record-number of New Yorkers living in shelters, which was 56,602 as of May 5 and included 11,600 families, crams clients into tiny rooms without kitchens — against city, state and federal guidelines.
Instead, the 216-room shelter operator, Samaritan Village, offers three meals a day. But the food is "disgusting" and "garbage," according to nearly a dozen residents, all mothers, who spoke to DNAinfo about how they have found it difficult and expensive to live in a shelter without kitchens.
“The food is still frozen, it’s terrible,” said one mother, who has a 9-year-old daughter. DNAinfo is withholding the mothers' names because they fear retaliation for speaking to the media.
When she moved into the shelter, also know as the Boulevard Family Center, in January she got sick with what she believed to be food poisoning her first week there, she said.
“It’s exhausting when you don’t get enough food stamps because [the] shelter says they provide food," she said. "I did time — the food was better in jail."
Another resident estimates she spends $60 a day on food for her and two teenaged sons, including one with special needs. She usually picks up dinner at McDonald's across Queens Boulevard or at a nearby deli.
“If we had kitchen, I’d spend $20,” she said. “Food is expensive.”
Her tiny room, where her two sons share one bed, is equipped with a small refrigerator but she's forbidden from keeping a microwave.
The one communal microwave broke weeks ago and hasn't been fixed, residents said.
Another mom of three teenagers said she used to buy meals at a local supermarket and heat them in the microwave, but couldn't anymore since it broke.
12 comments:
Where else in the world do the homeless complain about not getting "adequate food"...also, $60 dollars a day on food--where does the mother get that money? NYC is arguably America's greatest city; not America's greatest charity...
Everyone mentioned in the article is a mother who served time. How pathetic. No husbands. Several children. How dare they complain. Is it any wonder why homeowners don't want these shelters in their community ?
"...the 216-room shelter operator, Samaritan Village, offers three meals a day. But the food is "disgusting" and "garbage," according to nearly a dozen residents, all mothers, who spoke to DNAinfo about how they have found it difficult and expensive to live in a shelter without kitchens ... "It’s exhausting when you don’t get enough food stamps because [the] shelter says they provide food," she said. "I did time — the food was better in jail.""
There you have it - the end of New York City - the end of the United States - and the end of life as we know it - all happening at 79-00 Queens Boulevard.
$60/day for 3 meals for mom + 2 meals for each son (lunch would be free at school) = $12 per person per meal.
What the hell is she buying? A whole rotisserie chicken is less than $10 that would serve 3 people. A jumbo bag of salad would be about $5.
Sounds like some of these people are just priced out of NYC and haven't waken up to the fact - not homeless.
All these articles do is reinforce the perception (perhaps correctly) that the Welfare Queen is alive and well-- free food, free money, free apartment, free everything at the NYC taxpayers expense. If these people don't like it, they should move far far away from my taxes.
Is McDonalds food?
So Stringer has sent back...for now, 2 contracts with " non profits " that already have numerous other contracts with the City. Big deal! The DHS keeps awarding contracts ( non competitive) to the same usual suspects, all of whom have the best of political connections. The City's own investigation turned up hundreds of violations in these shelters and yet they keep awarding contracts to the same people. Now DeBlas wants a City SWAT team to correct the problems. Who pays for that? Will the extra cost incurred by the SWAT team be deducted from the millions already being paid out to these " non profit " thieves? When will someone have the balls to investigate this endless cash cow?
I have lived here my whole life and seeing the demise of the neighborhood makes me glad no formal contract has been signed !
Seriously this place gots to go. The building is clearly not equipped to handle the situation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT6smpCV8DQ
Somebody needs to be held accountable...
What a cluster!
Stringer has no balls, he'll eventually sign the contract. He's actually worse than de Blasio. Hard to believe? Just wait and see.
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