From the Daily News:
The co-owner of a Queens Holiday Inn that had been slated to become a homeless shelter said he wants out of the deal because the community opposition is too much.
Harshad Patel told neighborhood groups opposed to the Maspeth shelter that he wouldn’t go forward with the plans after they organized a protest in front of his home.
The protest was later nixed.
He confirmed he no longer supported the shelter to the Daily News on Thursday — and said he already told Acacia Network, the non-profit that had contracted with the city to run the shelter, he was done with the plan.
“The community doesn’t like it, so we decided not to move forward,” he said.
Calls to Acacia were not returned.
Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, said, “We’re going to celebrate, but cautiously.”
“We’ve seen things happen where someone tells us something is going to happen and it doesn’t,” he added.
A Twitter account linked to the Holiday Inn franchise posted Thursday that the deal was off.
“We would like to confirm that the Hotel will not be converting to a shelter as suggested. It will continue to operate as a Hotel,” the tweet said.
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This is interesting, considering that yesterday the electeds met with the DHS Commissioner and were told that the plan was moving forward. Also, Queens Community Board 5 received an official "notice" letter from Acacia notifying them of their intentions.
For added fun, Curtis Sliwa is showing up tonight at the hotel.
37 comments:
There is much more to this serious event than meets the eye.
This may be a negotiating tactic for the owner, Harshad Patel, to get more of our hard earned tax dollars than was agreed to.
Rather than a official formal shelter, it will be an intermediate placement location.
All part of the Department of Homeless Services never ending shell game...
can somebody ask Dizzy Lizzy if the Glendale shelter is back on the table?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I only construe this as Acacia pulling out, not DHS backing away from the site. Other providers may step up. An important victory, though, to be sure!
I didn't realize you guys had planned a protest in front of his home. That's great.
Crappie, it is the way all of us Queens residents should organize going forward when we have developers who live in Nassau, and New Jersey coming in and ruining our villages
Acacia did not pull out, the owner did. The owner claims Acacia wanted the deal but he did not.
Anyone can finally see homeless people needs homes not hotel rooms. These people once had homes. Had kitchens were the talk of the day occurred. Meals made. Living in a hotel does not have such amenities.
I truly hope the city can find them affordable housing or help them stay in their homes. Build more NYCHA developments. Look at all these luxury apartments going up.
Putting them in hotels is just not right. I agree with Liz Crowley on that.
I welcome Curtis Silwa tonight.
It is too bad Melinda Katz never showed up. I guess she was too busy for us.
Katz doesn't give a crap about the quality of lives in long established communities. Remember her next election.
Electeds will only help if it helps them politically....it's called pandering for votes. A dirty and disgraceful act.
The Maspeth community fought very hard with daily protests. They showed every community in Queens that persistence pays off. Kudos to the Juniper Valley Civic group and Sen. Avella for their help in Maspeth.
Congratulations citizens of Maspeth.
City elected and their appointed officials are clearly feeling the heat. Also these poverty profiteering scoundrels.
Lizzie better recognize that her sudden endorsement of the rights of her constituents will not absolve her past discouragement and undermining of them. Vote that incompetent and shrill hack out.
BUT BUT BUT............If all of these concerned Queens citizens do not come out to EVERY ELECTIONS, especially the smaller ones like next Tuesday, then nothing changes. YOUR VOTE is what matters, it can put people like Katz in office or remove people like this political whore. Unfortunately I don't have much faith in the people of Queens.
Good show Maspeth, well done! Stay vigilant however these pricks from the City may try an end run.
BRAVO MASPETH!
Certain members of the Broadway Flushing Homowners' Association (BFHA)
should take a lesson from REAL community activism.
There are a couple in the ranks of BFHA , who are either too timid or too concerned with the furtherance of their careers to make any waves.
I say to you...RESIGN....for the good of your organization!
Neighborhood appearance is a fine goal, but when your shady elected officials will not support anything but watered down bills that DO NOT PROTECT your fine neighborhood, then ACT UP!
Of course Councilman Paul Vallone was whom I was referring to regarding bogus bills that do NOTHING for the city to ENFORCE Rickert Finlay covenants.
Dump Vallone!
He is a developers' lobbyist and does not really represent your best interests.
Builders come before constituents. Who pays him his retainers?
That is who a lawyer is most loyal to....his client list!
Diselect them
There are fifty nine days until this years election.
You will all be amazed how quickly people will forget and how many useful idiots there really are.
I will not be surprised...
It's a great victory for Maspeth, but does this mean that another still decent spot in Queens will be chosen for a shelter now?
WHAT THE RESIDENTS OF MASPETH HAVE DONE SHOULD BE DONE ACROSS NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGHOUT THIS CITY. GOOD JOB !!
I for one will not vote for them. No show Katz...Markey...and for the lovely mayor did not vote for you and not going to start.
For years my block was plowed out nicely but here comes blizzard of 2016....wow we even made the front page of the Queens Ledger...the forgotten part of Queens. No plow just bs from this administration. Well come Election Day there will be no bs I will vote for a change.
I hope everyone else does the same.
That just means they're looking for another hotel and more compliant location in Queens.
Good idea to bring the protest right to his house. Right out of Alinsky's playbook.
All Queens neighborhoods are on notice, politeness is out the window.
Shelters are not the answer....afforable housing is what these people need. You lose your apartment or house for whatever reason only to be placed in a place like the Metro Hotel. For years that was a slum and a dive. Hookers and god knows what else. Having families there is not a good atomsphere for children.
Affordable housing is the answer. They can build all these luxury apartments on Queens Blvd what about affordable housing?
Wake up DHS stop putting bandaids on this. Do right by these people. One day it can be anyone of us.
Crossing my fingers that this is not some election ploy.
Shelters not the answer is right. Affordable housing is.
Question...why was St John's Hospital turned into businesses/luxury homes. A perfect sight for affordable housing. Then the city could have fixed up Pan American and did the same thing affordable housing! Not shelters. No but they snuck these people in at the Pan American and then what gave them food vouchers for diners and Fast food. Not much of a choice for food and a distance to walk to the food courts at the malls. Come on mayor...affordable housing.
Rethink your options.
I didnt go to every protest, but I did suggest a march to local politicians homes and protesting infront of developers homes to embarass them in front of their children, neighbors and community. My family thinks I'm nuts, but both were done/planned. I was told my two community organizers that they were great ideas but i thought they were just being nice. Being connected, fighting for your community is still worth it. Reading this blog and staying informed was also a powerful tool. I post tons of local info on FB and try to make others aware too. So, thank you Crappy for keeping us all informed cause I would not have then been able to come up with my minor suggestions that helped lead to action. God only knows what will happen but in the end we all have to try to protect what's left of the Queens we know and love.
Election scam, these people will be back with the same underhanded stealth bullshit after they get re-elected. The owner can sell that hotel to the city, he's loosing money and sounds disgusted enough to cash out and cut his losses.
They can build all these luxury apartments on Queens Blvd what about affordable housing?
Construction costs are too expensive in the city, and there's enough demand anyway for the more expensive housing. 421-A, Mitchell-Lama, Inclusionary Zoning, LINC vouchers... they've all failed as a sustainable solution. Geography, infrastructure, and the inexhaustible supply of people gainfully employed and want to live in the city - even with a commute - have thwarted every attempt to seriously address the problem. Hey, it's NYC - you've gotta hustle to make it, and it's no shame if you can't. Life doesn't end if you can't afford it and have to move.
So where do we go from here?
Let me guess, declare victory and go home?
Right!
And repeat next year.....
FOR CHRIST SAKE ORGANIZE PEOPLE! PERMANENTLY!
I would like to congratulate the people of Maspeth who gave their time and energy to fight the homeless shelter. We had no help from our elected politicians who are supposed to represent us. Out of bad comes good. I think the residents of Maspeth now understand how useless these politicians really are and know that they will not fight for us or the community. The worst offender was Marge Markey, who when she finally showed up at a meeting at the Knockdown Center, was pissed because people booed her. She told the crowd that we probably wanted the shelter and walked out. Since this is the Queens Crapper, I think all of Markey's constituents should start by flushing the toilet on her. A young man named Brian Barnwell is running against her for her Assembly seat in the primary Tuesday. Please be sure to vote for him and get rid of Markey. Mr. Barnwell has been with the people of Maspeth from the beginning. We all need to remember one thing, politicians are supposed to work for us. We have to power of the vote. I hope the primary on Tuesday is just the beginning of ridding ourselves of these useless politicians.
Danny Dromm was responsible for turning the Pan American into a homeless shelter under the table and also the Metro Motel and did you know they found a dead body in the Metro Motel last week -- and Jimmy Van Bramer is responsible for the "Verde Hotel" in long island city to become a homeless shelter and now the "Quality Inn" on 53rd Street & Queens Boulevard is one and also "LaQuinta located at 37th Street & Queens Boulevard and he says he knew nothing about it -- money talks the ink was already dry on the paper when this was done -
A battle has been won, but there is still a war brewing out there in Queens. I choose to be cautiously optimistic that the MaspethStrong movement prevailed. There's still more work to be done. Tuesday is the primaries: Barnwell IN, Markey OUT. Barnwell stayed by our side every step of the way while Markey and Crowley turned their backs.
And when November comes, keep fighting the good fight and vote with the expectation that these politicians are supposed to work for YOUR interests. Hold them accountable.
I'm proud of my fellow Maspeth folk. You fought hard. Let's hope that this victory holds, and that it's not another diversion tactic.
"We had no help from our elected politicians"
I HOPE ALL REMEMBER THIS ON ELECTION DAY ! This political mob needs to be de-railed and busted up once and for all
It's the old-timers who always vote and they vote for the name they recognize. Time for the younger generations to fill the voting booths and vote the lazy and self serving electeds NOW!!!
Nice work. don't stop now.
"It's the old-timers who always vote and they vote for the name they recognize."...Get over yourself junior, the seniors are solid voters and are more politically savvy than most of your Facebook loving friends. Seniors have been there done that and know what a rat smells like.
Hate to say it but true. Loads of old Irish Catholic seniors in the district who swing the vote that keep getting these Crowleys & Vallones elected.
Its like the people that buy Hostess Twinkies BUT would you buy the Twinkie made today ?
Its a real annoyance, if these libtards & old folks refuse to open there eyes this election they are perhaps senile and should retire in Florida.
Ridgewood, Maspeth MV can not survive anymore destruction.
Maybe Danny Dromm wants to,cruise it for homeless lads.
I less than 2 years that building will be housing refugees.....i mean new registered democratic voters.
https://www.change.org/p/bill-de-blasio-stop-the-homeless-shelter-being-proposed-in-ozone-park
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