The operator of a controversial homeless shelter in the former Pan Am hotel has re-applied for a permanent contract despite multiple unresolved fire safety complaints, DNAinfo has learned.
Samaritan Village re-submitted its application on June 12 for a $42.7 million contract to operate the Boulevard Family Shelter at 7900 Queens Blvd., records show.
Comptroller Scott Stringer denied the shelter's original application in May citing major health and safety issues at the shelter, including fire code violations and lack of kitchens inside each unit, which are required by law.
According to the Department of Buildings records online, two complaints, one for insufficient sprinklers and the other for a lack of fire-stop doors in the building's long hallways, were added to the DOB's site on June 26th.
There are also open Environmental Control Board violations regarding construction issues from May and January.
The current list of violations kept by the Housing Preservation and Development show complaints about raw sewage accumulation, bed bugs, roaches, lack of running water and no heat throughout the shelter.
9 comments:
And to think, all this can be yours at any of the hipster hotels springing up now only to go bust in short order and become...
When it comes to Samaritan Village (and the other "non profits") we can only hope that someone can expose these lying, thieving, money grubbing bastards for what they are. In the mean time my advice to Elmhurst and Maspeth is to keep fighting, be the thorn in their side. Keep the faith.
"...raw sewage accumulation, bed bugs, roaches, lack of running water and no heat throughout the shelter."
To the majority of the residents at Samaritan Village these accommodations are considered luxurious.
Samaritan village badly manages the Pan Am shelter. They have a ton of unresolved violations. Just like DHS they try to ignore the violations until the shit hits the fan. I knew they were going to try to resubmit the contract (42 million is hard to give up), but what nerve, at least try to fix some of the violations. Don't just sugar coat it. I hope Stringer can see thru this. If not, he can forget about his mayoral aspirations.
Agreed-- who do you think the all the hotels going up in Queens are meant to house-- French tourists? Some, yes. The majority are on their way to city contracts to house homeless, which the city under law required is required to do. If the entire planet showed up in the city tomorrow, Duh Blazio would need to find them a flop. They aint going in NYCHA or sleeping on the floor of the welfare office like the 1980s. Wake up.
"Which the city under law required is required to do"... Time to change the law!
This wretched "establishment" has got to go. Raze it and, who cares. The "head" of Samaritan Village, while a board member of the NYCHA, contributed to the current disastrous state of affairs of that agency, and did little more than create no-show jobs and give out the best apartments to his mistresses.
How many of the original residents at the "shelter" have been successfully re-housed? No sooner had there been a community outcry, stats came out indicating that 60% of the residents were employed (timing is crucial in keeping with Dick-Blasio's "working poor" platform). Why isn't 30% of their income collected as "rent"? Even if it is kept in escrow to pay for real expenses for when they are successfully re-housed. What about on-site job referral and counseling? What about the true rate of quality of life infractions, drug use and sales and shoplifting crimes committed by these "guests" in our community?
I work two jobs to pay a $1,800 rent for a small apartment in a modest building just blocks from this "establishment"--and all I see in between jobs are less-than-starving Queenies talking on their free cell phones with kids, kids in tow.
Stringer should be strung up if he approves this contract. And property owner Berger, how is the view from Scarsdale?
We were vilified as racists when our community outcry went up--that's not what it is about, as there is sincere concern for these shelter residents to get back on their feet and not just work the system. Not in my backyard? YEs, NIMBY forever!
Middle villager - at least someone exposed the hundreds of millions they get from the state. It's a start, I guess.
http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/samaritan-village-is-primarily-state-funded/article_dd0d33e3-eae2-58a5-9c28-166c39bb5ee2.html
We know Samaritan Village and others are making a profitable living off our tax dollars to provide sub-standard housing, but what we need is a picture of the money being passed to our wretched politicians. We need someone who can connect the dots.
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